A Light That Never Goes Out
by Beeezie
Summary: "James," Lily said suddenly. He looked at her, a broad grin still spread across his face. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"   A series of one-shots about James and Lily in their 7th year.
1. A Light That Never Goes Out

A Light That Never Goes Out

Lily sat on her stool in greenhouse 6 and looked up morosely at the sky. When the 7th years had been released from Herbology, most of them had braved the rain and run back to the castle. She had decided to try and wait it out.

She was now regretting that decision. The rain had only gotten heavier, and she was tired of reading her book. The other holdouts had given up nearly half an hour ago, and she was beginning to wish she'd gone with them.

Or just remembered to bring an umbrella.

There were charms that repelled water, of course, but charming her entire body was too tedious to be worthwhile.

She sighed and stowed the book in her bag. Thankfully, that, at least, was waterproof.

At the door to the greenhouse she hesitated. It was pouring. She looked back at the empty greenhouse, and decided that no matter how wet she got, she couldn't stand to sit here any more.

Lily stepped out in the rain, and wrinkled her nose at the enormous, muddy puddles on the ground. The water dripping through the canopy of trees just in front of the greenhouses hit her head, and she felt a trickle of cold water run down her back. Just as she was about to step out of the relatively protective cover the trees offered, she heard someone call her name. When she turned, she saw James Potter jogging up the hill toward her, shielded underneath a red umbrella.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Hey," he said when he reached her, breathing a little heavily. "Want to share my umbrella?"

She stepped under it gratefully. "Thank you," she said, smiling at him. His cheeks got a little pink as he smiled back, and despite the rain, she suddenly felt her spirits lift.

For the first few years of their time at Hogwarts, Lily had heartily disliked James, but over the last year, he'd definitely grown on her. She'd been surprised over the summer to find that she actually missed him, and more surprised still at how pleased she'd been when she'd bumped into him and Remus in Diagon Alley and ended up spending the afternoon with them.

So pleased, in fact, that when she'd gotten home that evening, Petunia had asked her what she was so happy about.

Unfortunately, like an idiot, when James had asked her out a week into the year, she'd immediately said no out of habit. He'd cheerfully accepted it and turned away before she could take it back.

"Are you coming from Quidditch practice?" she asked, and immediately wanted to kick herself. He had his broom in his hand. Of course he was coming from Quidditch practice.

James did not comment on her stupid question. "Yeah." He frowned. "Didn't Herbology end over an hour ago? Peter's always back long before now."

She sighed. "I decided to wait out the rain," she said gloomily, pushing the hair plastered to her cheeks behind her ears. "It didn't work."

"Why didn't you just summon your umbrella?" he asked curiously as they began to walk.

Lily stared at him, not sure why she hadn't thought of it. Consequently, she tripped over her own feet when her right shoe stuck in the mud, and nearly fell on her face. "I didn't think of it," she said after she'd regained her balance.

The corner of his mouth twitched, but he refrained from commenting.

They walked in silence for a moment as Lily gathered up her courage.

"James," she said suddenly. He looked at her, still grinning. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

His eyes widened a little, and the smile slid off his face so quickly she felt herself begin to get nervous. "Sorry?"

Before she could let her nervousness take over and tie her tongue, she repeated, "I said, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

He actually dropped the umbrella and stopped dead in his tracks. By the time she'd caught it, the heavy rain had plastered his hair to his forehead and absolutely drenched his robes. She hurried back to him and held the umbrella over his head again, but he was already soaked.

He did not appear to notice. He was still staring at her, uncomprehending.

"James?" she asked tentatively.

"Are you asking me out?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head uncertainly.

She hesitated, afraid that after all of this he was going to say no, but made herself nod. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. His face broke into a smile, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't know," he said, pretending to consider. "I'll have to check my schedule."

Lily turned away, hiding a smile of her own. "Oh, well, if—"

"Checked," he said quickly. "I'm free."

They began walking again. When she glanced over at him, his eyes were shining, and he looked very pleased with himself.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked, feeling a little giddy. That really wasn't anywhere near as difficult as she'd been afraid it would be.

He shrugged easily. "I don't care. Wherever you like."

"How about Madam Puddifoot's?" she suggested. He gave her a horrified look, and she laughed. "I'm joking."

He stretched his arms over his head and twisted his neck from side to side, working out the stiffness he'd acquired after spending several hours on a broom. "Sure you are," he teased. "Admit it. You love anything as long as it's frilly and pink."

"You caught me." She put her free hand over her heart. "It's true. I love frilly pink things." A thought occurred to her, and she added, "That must be why I like you."

James gave a very exaggerated wince and brushed his hair back from his forehead. For once, he did not appear to be intentionally trying to mess it up. "Ouch. That hurts." After a moment, however, he grinned. "But you _are_ admitting that you like me," he said triumphantly.

"I just asked you out, didn't I?"

Now he _was_ messing up his hair on purpose. She couldn't remember why she'd found the habit so annoying before; now she found it vaguely endearing. "So you secretly like Madam Puddifoot's," he said. "I knew you had some skeleton hidden in your closet, but I never thought it would be that bad." He shrugged. "Well, nobody's perfect." He put his free arm around her shoulder. "It's okay. I won't hold it against you." She glanced up at him, and he pulled his arm away hurriedly. "Sorry—"

"It's fine," she said quickly. As he stuffed the offending hand in the pocket of his robes, she added, "No, I mean, it's fine for you to have your arm there."

His eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?" She nodded, and he pulled his hand back out of his pocket. Instead of putting his arm back around her shoulders, however, he slid it around her waist. "Is this fine?" he asked slyly, and she laughed.

"That's fine, too." He began to slide his hand lower. "James!"

He grinned and returned it to her waist. "It was worth a try," he said cheerfully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You are the limit," she told him.

"I know." She glanced up at his face again as they sloshed through the mud and the rain beat down on the umbrella. Despite the hair that had fallen back across his forehead and was now dripping water down his face, he wore a large grin. On impulse, she reached up to push his hair back.

If he had looked surprised before, it was nothing to how he looked now.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked, the grin momentarily fading into a look of bemusement.

"Of course," she answered confusedly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…" he hesitated for a minute. "I _thought_ I might have a chance, but when I asked you out about a week and a half ago, you said no."

Lily felt her face get hot. "It was just out of habit," she said carefully, avoiding meeting his gaze by staring into the Forbidden Forest. Though they were walking slowly, she noticed with dismay that they were much closer to the castle than she'd thought.

This conversation had made it so that she barely even noticed the rain still falling around them and thundering onto the umbrella that she was still holding.

James laughed out loud. "What, you're just so used to turning me down that you didn't even stop to think?" She nodded, still not looking at him, and he pulled her closer to him. Her heart skipped a beat. She didn't even mind the fact that his grip was tight enough that the water on his robes was seeping through the back of hers and onto her shirt. "Why didn't you say something?"

She made herself look into his hazel eyes. "I just did, didn't I?"

His grin took on a slightly cocky air. "I knew you'd fall for me," he said. "It was only a matter of time."

Lily snorted, though she wasn't entirely sure at this point that he wasn't right. He'd needed to reign in his ego – badly – but once he'd started to mature a bit in their sixth year… maybe it _was_ just a matter of time.

"It's the hair, isn't it?" he asked. "And my amazing Quidditch skills."

"Absolutely."

He laughed again.

Lily had also found, in the last year, that James Potter's laugh was really quite infectious. She couldn't help but smile.

"You couldn't even wait for me to ask you out again," he continued.

"That might have been months from now!" Lily exclaimed. It was very difficult to judge with James. He'd probably asked her out three or four times in the week and a half leading up to Christmas the year before, had done so twice in January, and then hadn't mentioned anything about it again until April.

The idea of sitting around waiting for him to get around to asking her again was not one that she'd relished.

"Exactly," he said. "You couldn't even wait a month to have your hands all over me."

"Damn, now you know all my secrets. Madam Puddifoot's, and now this." Lily put a hand up to her forehead and said, in her most dramatic voice, "Oh, James, I'm so desperately in love with you. I just couldn't contain myself any longer."

"And who could blame you?" His voice suddenly became a little more unsure. "You really are serious?"

Lily sighed. Two years of rejections were definitely going to come back to haunt her. "Yes, I'm serious."

"And I'm not dreaming?" he asked as they began to climb the steps to the castle. She shook her head. "Huh."

When they reached the top, she turned to him and kissed him softly.

James stared at her, speechless, and the thought occurred to her that if she'd started going out with him back when he was really obnoxious, she'd probably have had a lot more success at shutting him up than she'd experienced otherwise.

"Thanks for your umbrella, James," she said.

He shook himself out of his shock. "Thanks for the kiss," he replied, his eyes sparkling. As they opened the heavy door and squelched inside, he couldn't help but add, "And just for the record? I am your knight in shining whatever. I saved you from the rain and everything."

She reached out to grab his hand. "I know you are," she said as they made their way upstairs, their wet shoes squeaking on the stone floor.

* * *

><p><em>AN: This was originally written for jai917's Dialogue Challenge on harrypotterfanfiction dot com. The title is inspired by the Smiths song, "There is a Light That Never Goes Out."_

_This was my first Lily/James fic, and I really hope I did them justice! They're one of my favorite ships._

_This is just a one-shot. I might write a follow-up to it at some point; it'll probably depend in part on whether or not this appeals to readers. Any sequel would be similar, so if no one likes this, it's likely no one would like the sequel. :P_

_I would love it if you took the moment to leave a review. :) Thanks for reading!_

_Edit: After a very positive response (you guys are so sweet!), I've written a sequel called "Straight On 'Til Morning." It's not the Hogsmeade date, but I will hopefully be writing that, too. :)_

_- Beeezie_


	2. Hogsmeade

Subtlety was not Lily's forte.

It never really had been, but she'd hoped to make it to her first date with James Potter without everyone in the entire school somehow knowing about it.

Somehow, however, word had gotten out.

She had no idea how all of her roommates seemed to know by Sunday morning that she had a date with James for their coming Hogsmeade weekend when she'd only told Jane and Sarah and specifically asked them not to tell anyone else. She doubted very much that either of them had told anyone else, but somehow, everyone seemed to know anyway.

The added pressure was not doing good things for her nerves.

By the time Wednesday rolled around, Lily was truly wondering whether she would make it to their Hogsmeade weekend without going completely crazy. Between the gossip and the anticipation, she was definitely a little on edge.

"You know, I think the entire school is onto us," James said cheerfully as they left the Great Hall after lunch and began to walk in the direction of the Potions classroom. "I had a fifth year I've never spoken to in my life congratulate me this morning as I was walking down to breakfast."

Lily bit her lip, trying to hide a smile. "You're probably going to be disappointed," she teased. "I don't see how I can possibly live up to your expectations."

He shifted his bag from one shoulder to the other so he could grab her hand. She interlaced her fingers with his and glanced up at him. He was beaming, and when he saw her looking at him, his free hand jumped to the back of his head. "I have faith in you," he assured her as he pushed aside a portrait that concealed a secret passage that she had never seen before he and Sirius had led her through it on their way to Potions on Monday.

She'd spent enough time with them in sixth year to know that they'd discovered a lot of secret passageways and shortcuts that no one ever used, but she'd never guessed just how much Hogwarts was hiding until now.

"I'm not sure why," she said. "You'll probably think that I'm rubbish at snogging or something."

James let out a laugh. It echoed off the stone walls around them in a pleasant sort of way. "Nah. And even if you were, haven't you heard? Practice makes perfect." He glanced at her quickly, and she grinned.

"Well, as long as you don't mind the practice," she said, and he visibly relaxed.

Her rejections over the last year and a half were definitely coming back to haunt her. There had been a few times now that he'd gotten tense after making a joke, clearly afraid that this time, she'd get annoyed, say that he'd gone too far, and call the whole thing off.

"Nah," he replied. "It's for a good cause and all of that."

"A good cause?" she asked. Her heartbeat was beginning to quicken, though she had no idea why – he hadn't initiated a kiss yet, and he obviously wasn't going to do so for the first time in an old dusty corridor while they were on their way to class, though at the moment she was rather wishing he would. Since she'd asked him out, she'd been paying more attention to him than usual, and even stupid things like his intentionally messed up hair and his stupid jokes made her feel warm and happy inside.

He winked at her. "Well, you know. We do look to our Head Boy and Girl to set an example for everyone, and Merlin knows I'm useless, so it all falls to you."

"Does it, now?"

His grin broadened. "Well, if it was to get out that you were rubbish at snogging, who knows what that would do? Maybe everyone else would start to think, 'Well, if Lily Evans can't do it, it's obviously not worth bothering with.' Suddenly nobody would be snogging anyone. Imagine a Hogwarts with no snogging."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. I'm just that influential in Hogwarts. There would be absolutely no kissing if _I_wasn't doing it." She stretched her arms over her head. "Makes you wonder how they've all managed this long."

James stopped dead. She turned around to ask him what was wrong, and was surprised to find a slightly perplexed look on his face. "You've never been kissed?"

"Oh, Merlin, come off it, James, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying that I've never had – you know. A real boyfriend."

"Oh." Lily had the distinct impression that if James felt a little more confident around her, he'd make a joke about it. As it was, though, he seemed to decide that he didn't dare to try.

"Have you?" she asked curiously as they began walking again. "Kissed anyone, I mean?"

"Sure," he said. "Loads of times."

Lily had honestly been expecting him to say yes, but something about his bravado didn't quite ring true. "Really?" she asked. "Loads of times?"

"Sure," he repeated.

She twisted around to study him. He had a slightly sheepish expression, and after a moment, she said, "You've never kissed anyone, have you?"

"We should get to class," he said quickly.

She raised her eyebrows. "So for all your talk –" She stopped; he was starting to look more than a little embarrassed, which really wasn't what she wanted. "Sorry," she said quickly. "I shouldn't tease you. I know you're very manly."

He snorted. "Thanks." He did, however, take the hand that she offered him, and by the time they reached the dungeons, he was in much better spirits. He even dropped her hand long enough to hold the door open for her.

"You know, I can open doors on my own," she told him, but stepped through anyway.

He smirked and followed her in, not bothering to hold it for the other students coming down the hall. "How's this: I'll let you open the next door, and you can say 'toerags first' or something."

Lily groaned. "Don't remind me." At the end of their fifth year, she'd had it out with him six or seven times in the space of two weeks, and she was fairly sure she'd called him a toerag every time.

In her defense, he'd been acting like an arse a good two-thirds of those times, and had probably deserved a good tongue-lashing.

In his, she'd definitely taken some of her frustration about her falling out with Severus on him – and, as Sarah had so kindly pointed out to her on the train ride home, it really wasn't any of her business if he and Sirius snuck out after-hours or jinxed each other.

It had not been her finest moment.

James grinned and put an arm around her shoulders. "All is forgiven," he said magnanimously. She hesitated, but nodded after a moment, and a mischievous look spread across his face. "Of course, if you'd like to make it up to me…"

"James!"

By the time Saturday rolled around, Lily was feeling very nervous. Despite the amount of time she'd spent in James's company since she'd asked him out – which was considerable enough that Jane had commented on it five or six times – she couldn't shake the feeling that she just wasn't going to live up to his ideal.

"Oh, stop worrying," Jane had said rather waspishly earlier that morning at breakfast. "He's been all about you for years, and it's not exactly like you were making a great impression. It'll be fine."

Lily had no idea why Jane was in such a foul mood, but she decided not to push it, especially since her friend was probably right. It wasn't as though she'd been on her best behavior around James for the vast majority of the time they'd known each other, and he didn't seem to have been scared off yet.

Still.

When she met him by the portrait hole after getting her jacket and hat, though, some of her nervousness melted away. "You look amazing," he said softly, and she glanced down at the floor. She could feel her face getting warm, and a smile was spreading across her face with what she felt was a will of its own.

"Thanks," she said. "I – should we go?"

"Sure." He led her past the Fat Lady and down the stairs. She was just as glad that he wasn't looking at her – her smile probably made her look like a complete idiot. By the time they reached the bottom and he looked back at her, she'd composed herself enough that she was able to offer a natural smile back to him when he grinned.

"Shall we?" he asked, sweeping an arm toward the enormous double doors.

She felt her stomach turn over. This was actually happening. She was about to go on a date with James Potter. There was a pleasant sort of tingling running through her entire body, and she found the smile she'd finally managed to control working its way across her face again.

He didn't seem particularly put off by it, though.

"Yes," she said, linking his arm with hers. "Let's."

It ended up being a very pleasant first date, though Lily suspected that that had more to do with the company than what they actually did. James had bought some sweets at Honeydukes for them to share, and the chocolate put her in such a good mood than when she caught him glancing longingly at Zonko's, she'd suggested they go in. She even turned a blind eye to the firecrackers, though when he showed signs of wanting to get an entire crate of fireworks, she drew the line.

"I can shrink it," he insisted, even after he'd paid for the firecrackers. "It wouldn't get in the way of us at all." She just stared at him until he sighed and said, "Oh, fine. Let's go to the Three Broomsticks."

It was predictably crowded, but not horribly so; it was still early enough in the day that most of the students were still wandering the village. By the time they started streaming in at about mid-afternoon, Lily and James were both ready to leave. It had been a wonderful day, but by the time you reached your seventh year, Hogsmeade visits lost some of the excitement they held earlier on.

"Hold on," he said as they began to walk back toward the road that would lead them back to the castle. She glanced at him in confusion, and he pulled her along the side of the pub.

"James, what –"

He sank his fingers into her hair, lowered his head, and kissed her.

She had kissed him since she'd asked him out, but it had always been on the cheek, or else just a quick brush of her lips against his. He'd clearly enjoyed it, and so had she, but this was something different. This was something deeper and stronger and much more meaningful. This was something that was making her stomach do strange little flips. This would have made breathing difficult even if her mouth wasn't otherwise occupied.

She wound her arms around his neck and raised herself up on the tiptoes as she returned the kiss, and he stumbled back against the side of the building. She started to pull away to ask if he was all right, but he shook his head and deepened the kiss.

She was more than happy to go along with him.

By the time they broke away, they were both panting heavily, and Lily was suddenly aware of a small audience of third and fourth years who were peering at them from around the front of the pub.

"We have an audience," she murmured to him as she tried to make her hair less messy.

He glanced toward them, and they scattered. She expected him to make a smart comment, but for once, his brain seemed to be blank. "Let's go back," was all he managed to get out.

At this point, Lily was secretly hoping that the Common Room would be completely deserted when they got back – the first and second years might be spending what was surely one of the last weekends of truly good weather for awhile outside. She would be perfectly happy to pick the kiss up right where they'd left off.

"So that was our first date, right?" James asked as they were walking back to the castle.

"It was," she agreed.

"And I kissed you, and you didn't recoil with disgust."

"You're right. I didn't."

"In fact, you kissed me back."

"I did," she confirmed when he glanced at her as though he half-expected her to contradict him. "I was enthusiastic about it, too."

He stretched his arms over his head. When they came down, one managed to conveniently land around her shoulders. She didn't shrug it off, though; she was finding that she quite liked all this physical contact with James.

"So does that make you my girlfriend?" he asked. She pretended to consider that, and he quickly added, "It doesn't have to – I mean, I don't want you to – I just –"

Lily decided to take mercy on him. She stopped him, and when he turned to look at her, she kissed him squarely on the mouth.

He blinked several times.

"That was a yes," she supplied when he didn't respond.

A wide grin was making its way across his face. "See, I knew it. Deep down, it was only a matter of time, wasn't it?"

Lily took his hand and started back down the road. "Very deep down," she teased him.

"Ah, well. Couldn't really expect anything better." He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Thanks. For giving me a chance."

She inhaled deeply and looked up at the sky. The sky was starting to get dark, and the smell of the autumn leaves was in the air. "Don't thank me," she said. "I had a really good time. You know, James, you really have gotten much less unbearable."

He snorted. "You always know how to make a guy feel special, don't you?"

"I try." She smiled as a breeze whipped through the air and through her hair. Autumn had always been Lily's favourite season, and it had been a beautiful day.

* * *

><p>AN: So this is actually a new chapter that I'm posting at the same time as what is now chapter 7. If you've already read this and are thinking, "Hey, I don't remember reading this bit" - well, you're right, you don't. :P Hope you enjoyed it. As always, reviews are lovely.


	3. Veritaserum

Straight On 'Til Morning

Lily tried to muster up some enthusiasm for the food in front of her, but she was fighting a losing battle. Just thinking about eating the potatoes or the salad made the bile rise in her throat.

She had woken up feeling terrible, so rather than follow her roommates down to breakfast, she'd decided to take advantage of her free periods in the morning to get some extra sleep. It initially seemed to work – Herbology went fine – but once she'd left the greenhouse, the nausea had begun to creep back in. By the time she'd sat down in the Great Hall five minutes ago, she should have known that consuming anything but some water would be hopeless.

"Hey." James slid into the seat next to her. "How are you? I didn't see you at breakfast today."

Lily groaned. "I don't feel well," she said, resting her head on her hands. "My stomach is killing me."

He rubbed her back sympathetically. "You could skip out on Potions," he said. "I'll tell Slughorn you're sick."

She looked up quickly. "No!" He looked a little taken aback, and she winced as she felt her stomach lurch. "No, James, we're finishing the Veritaserum today, I can't miss that."

"Throwing up in your cauldron isn't going to help your potion," he pointed out, and she shook her head.

Veritaserum was one of the most important potions they would be brewing all year, and it took about a month to finish. No matter how sick she got, she was going.

"I wish I had an antacid." She took a sip of water, trying to rid herself of the bitter taste in her mouth.

"What's that?" James asked.

"Muggle stomach medicine." She could hear him make a skeptical noise and she added defensively, "Well, it _works._ Everything doesn't need to be magic, you know."

He didn't say anything for a moment, and then suddenly snatched his bag off the floor.

"James?" she asked uncertainly as he rifled around in it.

"Aha!" He pulled a tin out of the bag and put it on the table.

She glanced down. "James, I'm not in the mood for sweets right now."

He picked up the box and opened it. "I know. Take a few." Lily picked up her head enough to give him a miserable look. "Lily, just trust me. They're ginger drops. They'll make you feel better."

Whenever she felt sick at home, her mother always went out to buy her ginger ale. Maybe these would work the same way.

She held out her hand. "Give me a few. If I'm sick, I don't want to touch them all and get you sick, too." He placed a few in her hand, and she popped them into her mouth.

After a few minutes, he asked, "How are you feeling now?"

Lily breathed in, and let the breath out. "A little better," she admitted, leaning against him. "Thanks. Why do you have ginger drops, anyway?"

"I like them. They're my favorite sweet." He put his arm around her, and she filed that information away for future reference. She and James had not been going out for very long, and they hadn't been close enough friends before that that Lily had really noticed what his favorite sweets were.

"That's convenient." She closed her eyes, ignoring the buzz of the Great Hall and enjoying the feeling of his body next to hers, and the way he stroked her hair, and… "Can I have a few more?"

"Sure." He shifted a little so that he could extract the tin from his pocket and open it, and after a moment, he handed her a few more drops. "You should eat something," he said as she sucked on them. "How about an apple?"

Lily sighed. He was probably right. "In a minute."

By the time she'd finished the ginger drops and eaten about two-thirds of the apple, she had to admit that she was feeling much better.

She squeezed James's hand. "Thank you."

He kissed her forehead. "Let's get to class." She tried to give him the tin, and he shook his head. "I've got three more upstairs. Keep it."

They left the Great Hall, hand-in-hand.

"You know," Lily commented as they walked, "I really do feel much better."

James shrugged. "Ginger always helps me."

She leaned up to kiss his cheek. "You're the best boyfriend ever," she murmured.

His cheeks reddened slightly, and a small smile spread across his face. "Good." He pushed aside a portrait that led to a secret passage that she'd never seen before September.

Going out with James had taught her exactly how much she didn't know about this school.

"You're sure you're feeling better?" he asked, and she smiled.

"I'm sure."

They exited the passage through a wall that until earlier that year, Lily would have sworn was solid. James let go of her hand to open the door to the Potions classroom. "Ladies first," he said gallantly.

She rolled her eyes, but stepped through the door anyway. "Thank you."

James grinned and followed her to their seats, not bothering to hold the door for the other people coming down the corridor.

When they reached their cauldrons, Sirius gave them a forlorn look. "I hate Veritaserum," he said unhappily. "I was hoping he'd just forget we'd started it."

James snorted. "Not likely." Lily sat down on her stool, pulled the tin out of her pocket, and picked out another few drops.

Sirius made a face. "You, too? I thought it was only James who liked those foul things."

"I have a stomach bug," Lily told him, and he gave her a sympathetic look.

In truth, Lily was not the biggest fan of ginger, but it really was quite effective whenever she had a stomachache.

She studied James's profile as he read the instructions on the board. When he sensed her staring at him, he turned his head to look at her. In that moment, his face was so open and caring and – for once in his life – innocent that she wanted nothing more than to drag him off to a broom closet.

She smiled at him and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You're terrific," she told him softly.

His face broke into a grin. "So are you," he said.

Professor Slughorn spent that first few minutes of the lesson outlining what they needed to do today for their final touch. When he gave them the signal to start, Lily dumped the last few ingredients into her potions and began to stir. It really should have been less opaque at this point, but she couldn't complain. Veritaserum was tricky to make, and this was her first attempt. She was just happy that it was actually blue.

James wasn't so lucky.

"It should be blue, not purple," she told him, leaning over to get a better look in his cauldron.

James nodded mournfully. "I know." He gave her a hopeful look. "Want to help me?"

She screwed up her face and pretended to think about it. "I'm not sure. What's in it for me?"

"My everlasting gratitude?"

Lily considered that for a minute. "Good enough." She leaned her head against James's shoulder and murmured softly, "Add more hellebore."

He grinned and put his arm around her to hug her close. "Thanks." He bent down and began to search for the syrup of hellebore; Lily was unexpectedly reminded of her mother in the spice drawer.

"Two drops," she said when he straightened up, enjoying the jolt of electricity that had gone through her when he'd hugged her and had not yet quite departed.

James added the syrup, and after a moment of stirring, his potion shimmered and turned a deep, cerulean blue – several shades darker than the pale blue Lily's and Sirius's were.

He groaned.

Lily frowned at his cauldron as she popped the tin open, popping another two sweets into her mouth. "Add another two newt eyes," she said. He picked them out from the array of ingredients on their table and tossed them in. After a moment of stirring, his potion lightened considerably.

James gave a cheer and gave her a one-armed hug. "You're my hero."

Lily felt a pleasant little shiver run through her. "Anytime." She jerked her head toward his cauldron. "You should be stirring that, you know."

"Right." He let go of her and began to stir his potion, which had faded to a blue that was not quite as pale as hers or Sirius's had been, but was at least much closer than his previous attempts had been.

Ten minutes later, they had all delivered bottles of their potions to Slughorn's desk. Lily was fairly pleased with her final result; true, it wasn't quite as clear as Severus's, but as least it was the right shade.

"Before you clean up," Slughorn said, and Lily stopped before she waved her wand over her remaining potion to vanish it. "Would anyone like to sample their potion?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw James and Sirius exchange a look. She was not surprised when their hands shot up into the air.

Slughorn looked pleased by their enthusiasm. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black. What a surprise."

Lily felt something in her stir. Before she'd really processed what she was doing, she'd put her hand up in the air as well. "I'll test mine."

Slughorn beamed. "I expected nothing less, Ms. Evans." He looked around the classroom. The other students avoided his gaze.

"Cowards," James muttered.

Slughorn conjured up three glasses of water and handed them over. "Remember, only a few drops."

"Yes, Professor," Lily said, feeling a little nervous. What on earth had her pride just gotten her into? There were a great many things she didn't _want_ to share with the entire class, and while she thought that it was unlikely that anyone would ask her a question that led to most of them…

But there was no backing down now.

She exchanged looks with James and Sirius. Sirius grinned. "Bottoms up." He finished off his water in two enormous gulps. James was not far behind. Lily sipped at hers more slowly. She didn't _feel_ any different…

Just as she was finishing her water, James broke into a coughing fit. She set the glass down and looked at him in concern, but before she could do much more, he shook his head. His eyes were tearing, but he'd stopped coughing.

When he turned to look at her and opened his mouth, however, she couldn't stop herself from letting out a very loud giggle. She clapped her hand over her mouth, and he frowned at her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, trying without much success to stop herself from laughing. James turned to Sirius, probably to say something about how very odd girls were sometimes. Sirius had a nearly identical reaction: he let out a loud guffaw.

James grabbed his bag off the floor and dug something out of it. When he held it up, she realized that it was that strange mirror he always seemed to have with him.

He stared at his reflection for a moment, and then looked up at Slughorn, who looked at though he was trying to hold back laughter of his own.

The inside of James's mouth had turned bright blue.

"That can happen sometimes if you don't put in enough hellebore syrup," Slughorn said. "Not to worry. It should fade within a couple hours."

James opened his mouth and stared at his electric blue tongue. "Did it even work?" he asked, looking up at Slughorn.

"Hey, Prongs, how long have you liked Lily?" Sirius asked.

"Since fourth year," James said immediately, and then made a face. "It worked."

Sirius looked quite pleased with himself until James fired back, "Hey, Padfoot, what do your favorite pyjamas have on them?"

"Reindeer," Sirius said, and groaned. "I hate you."

Slughorn turned to Lily. "It appears that both Mr. Potter and Mr. Black were successful in creating Veritaserum," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Ms. Evans, I would like you to try to lie." She nodded. "What mark did you receive on your Potions O.W.L.?"

Lily opened her mouth to say, "Poor." What came out instead was, "Outstanding." She blinked in surprise, and Slughorn smiled.

"Congratulations, Ms. Evans."

"Hey, Lily," Sirius said as they began to clean up. She looked over at him. He had a sly look on his face. "Does James's blue mouth make you want to snog him any less?"

"No," she said, wanting to smack him.

Sirius laughed. "This is fun! Hey, James, tell us, do you think about Lily before you go to sleep at night?"

"Yes," James said, his face turning bright red. "I hate you, Sirius, have I mentioned?"

They began to walk toward the exit. Lily grabbed her bag and followed them, but before she reached the door, she found Severus blocking her way.

"I _still_ can't believe that you're going out with _him."_

Lily crossed her arms. Part of her wanted to brush by him and ignore him, but then she'd just have to deal with this again. "Why not?" she asked coolly.

Severus's eyebrows snapped together. "Because he's all _wrong_ for you," he said irritably, pushing his rather greasy hair back from his face.

"Well, I think he's brilliant," Lily replied, her voice getting colder by the second.

It was so _rich_ for Severus, of all people, to start trying to tell _her_ who was right and wrong for her. She'd barely spoken with him in a year and a half, for one, and for another, he clearly thought that he _was_ the right sort of person for her to be friends with – and given what he'd called her and what sort of person he'd turned into, she didn't put much stock in his judgment.

"I thought that _you_ would know better than to fall for his act," Severus spat as James and Sirius reappeared in the doorway.

James looked outraged, but she shook her head at him. Severus needed to know that this was coming from _her._

"What act?" she snapped, pushing her hair back. "What act, Severus? The one where he actually _cares_ about me and _respects _me?" Severus winced and opened his mouth, but she kept talking. "Do you really think that he's _lying_ about that?"

Severus looked pained for a moment. "But—"

"But _nothing."_ Lily could feel her temper rising. James might have behaved poorly at times in the past, but the idea that he was putting on an act was absolutely idiotic. If there was one thing she had learned about James Potter in the last six years, it was that he was absolutely incapable of putting on an act for anyone. "Stop trying to meddle in my life. You gave up the right to express your opinion a long time ago."

"You know she's telling the truth," Sirius called out helpfully. "She took that Veritaserum and everything." Lily shot him a look, and he grinned at her.

Sirius was definitely rubbing salt in the wound, but that didn't mean that he wasn't right. Lily started to brush by Severus.

"Lily—"

She stared him down. "You called me a mudblood," she said through clenched teeth. "You let your friends curse my friend's little sister because she told you off for calling _her_ friend a mudblood. You want to go out into the world and support a wizard who is doing his very best to kill off every witch and wizard of my birth." She could feel the bile rising again, and this time it had nothing to do with her stomach bug.

Severus winced. "Fine," he said after a moment, his voice heavy with disgust. He motioned to James, who was standing stony-faced in the doorway, wand in hand and arms crossed. "But Lily, are you really telling me that _he_ is, what?" His face contorted unpleasantly, and he continued, in a very sarcastic tone, "The man of your dreams?"

"Yes, I am," she said hotly. "And to be honest, Severus, I don't really _care_ what you think about it." A look of complete horror spread across his face, and in that moment, she understood exactly why he'd chosen to corner her here, now.

Despite everything that had happened, despite the fact that these days he really couldn't claim to know her at all, he'd truly thought that the answer would be no. He'd truly thought that he would be making her admit, with James as a witness, that she didn't _really_ care about him.

A jolt of disgust coursed through her. Who the _hell_ did Severus think he was? "You make me sick," she spat and stalked out of the classroom, leaving him standing there looking rather lost and unhappy.

James and Sirius fell into step with her. "Well, that was unpleasant," she muttered, and they both laughed. They made their way back up to Gryffindor tower, during which time Lily discovered that James's favorite flavor of every flavor bean was lemon, that Sirius did not have a crush on anyone, and that James had signed up for an N.E.W.T. in Potions largely because he knew that Lily would be taking it.

When they climbed through the portrait hole, Sirius made his way toward the stairs. "I have some books to return to the library," he called transparently over his shoulder. "I'll see you two later."

Lily and James made their way over to one of the red couches in front the fireplace. Other than them, the common room was completely deserted; the only noise was the crackling of the fire and the gusts of wind that made the windows rattle.

Lily felt that that was probably the best thing about being an N.E.W.T. student; even if you _did_ have a lot of work to do, you had a lot more free time.

They sat down on the couch, and she snuggled up to him. The fire drove away the chill, but there was something profoundly comforting about James's warm body that she couldn't seem to find anywhere else. "So I'm the man of your dreams, huh?" he asked, putting his arm around her.

Lily felt a smile spread across her face. "Yes, but don't let it go to your head."

"I won't," he promised. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." They sat there in silence for a minute, and she let out a very contented sigh.

His arm slid down a little and his grip tightened. After a moment, he began to pull her into his lap. Lily, who was not expecting her center of gravity to be so abruptly disrupted, squealed and grabbed his arm to stop herself from tumbling onto the floor.

James laughed. "Lily, I'm not going to let you fall." She smiled at him sheepishly, and he brought one hand up to brush her hair away from her face. "You're amazing," he said softly.

Lily felt a warmth spread through her that had nothing to do with the fire. When he leaned in to kiss her, however, she pulled back. "I'm sick," she said quickly, before his confusion could turn into hurt. "I don't want to get you sick, too."

"I really don't care," he murmured. When Lily met his gaze, she felt what was, at this point, the very familiar sensation of goosebumps rising on her arms and the back of her neck.

In that moment, she knew that there was no way that she was going to have the self-control to do the sensible thing and pull away.

When James leaned in a second time, she met his lips with hers, and, for a little while, Lily forgot about everything else.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I started writing more Lily/James one-shots, so I decided to consolidate them all into a single fic. Sorry for the inconvenience for everyone, and I hope you'll forgive me in light of my also posting a new chapter! :)_

_As always, I would really appreciate any reviews. __Thanks for reading!_

_Beeezie_

__(This was written for CrayolaGeorge's "Object Challenge" at harrypotterfanfiction dot com.)__


	4. Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland

"Let's go outside."

Lily looked up from her Potions assignment at James. He should, theoretically, have been working on the same essay, but he'd been glancing longingly out the window at the flurries all day.

"I should finish this essay," she said, trying not to let her disappointment show on her face.

It had snowed all through the night, and when Lily had looked out the window before going downstairs for breakfast, her first thought had been that she was very, very glad that it was a Saturday and that she would not have to trudge through it to get to Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures. However, as the day had gone on and the snow had turned into large, puffy flurries, she'd felt the pull of the grounds.

It was really a mark of how much James liked her that he'd decided to stay back when Sirius, Remus, and Peter had trooped outside with Jane and Sarah an hour after breakfast. Lily had no delusions that he was passing up the chance to spend time with his friends because he cared about his Potions essay.

He clearly sensed her hesitation, because his lips curved up into a small smile. "Come on," he said, giving her his most winning smile, and despite herself, she could feel her resolve waver. "You can finish up Potions tomorrow."

"We can also go outside tomorrow," she pointed out half-heartedly. He didn't say anything else, but the look in his eyes said it all. After a moment, she decided that she couldn't take it anymore, and threw down her quill. "All right."

His face brightened, and he got up to lean across the table to kiss her. "Be down in a few minutes," he said, grabbing his books and heading for the stairs to the boys dormitories.

Lily watched him go, a small smile on her face. Asking him out in September had definitely been a bit brutal, but she'd been grateful every day since that she'd swallowed her nervousness and managed it anyway.

After he'd disappeared up the staircase, she gathered up her things as well and made her way across the common room and up the stairs to her dormitory. Once she got up there, she dumped her school supplies unceremoniously on top of her trunk and began to layer up. It was bitter out there, and she had the feeling that James would insist on staying out for a long time.

And she didn't think that she was at all opposed to that.

When she reappeared in the common room clad in a heavier sweater, her coat, a scarf, gloves, and a hat, James was already there.

"Sorry," she said breathlessly, leaning up to brush her lips against his. "Let's go. I'm overheating."

He grinned at her, took her hand, and they made their way toward the portrait hole.

Unlike her, James had clearly not dressed with great concern for warmth. He was wearing his coat, but she could see the same thin red sweater he'd been wearing all day peeking out from underneath it, and while he had on a scarf, he hadn't bothered to put it on in a particularly effective manner: the ends both hung free, rather than being tucked inside his coat as Lily had done.

He was wearing gloves, but Lily suspected that all the gloves were was indication that he was intending to throw snow at her and didn't want his hands to get too chapped up.

After all, that might interfere with his process on the Quidditch pitch, and James Potter couldn't have that.

As they made their way down the stairs, Lily moved closer to him, pulling her hand free to put his behind her back. He glanced down at her, and she smiled.

The "I love you" was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't quite say it. They'd only been going out for a few months, but the more time Lily spent with James, the more she realized how funny and caring he was, how sweet he could be, how absolutely _ridiculous_ he was a lot of the time.

And she had found herself falling head over heels for him.

But what if he didn't feel the same way? What if he felt obligated to say it just because she had?

Jane told her that she was being insane, and that of course he felt the same way, he'd only liked her for years. Logically, Lily knew that Jane was right, but logic didn't play much part it in.

James hugged her close. "You're amazing," he said, kissing the top of her hat.

He'd been saying that, or things along that line, quite a lot lately. That gave Lily hope; it felt almost like he was trying to find something to fill the void of "I love you," which he was too nervous to actually say.

"So are you." When she said that, a smile spread across his face.

They reached the doors leading outside. The floor around them was slushy and dirty. The caretaker, who had been scrubbing the floor clean when they'd gone down to the Great Hall for lunch, had evidently decided that it wasn't worth it to continue to try to clean up the slush that students were tracking in as they returned from their adventures outside.

Lily pulled her hat more firmly onto her head, and she and James ventured out into the cold.

Just as they reached the bottom of the steps, she heard someone call, "Hey! Prongs!"

James turned toward the lake and was immediately hit with a snowball squarely in the face. Lily let out a loud giggle before she could help herself at his expression. As he wiped off his face, Lily looked over at the perpetrator.

"Hi, Sirius," she said.

Sirius grinned at her. "Hey, Lily." He stepped past her to James and clapped him on the back. "You know—" James cut him off by grabbing his shoulders. "Hey!"

As her boyfriend wrestled his best friend onto the ground – presumably to rub snow in Sirius's face – Lily looked over at Jane, Sarah, Remus, and Peter, who were approaching at a more subdued pace. "Heading in?" she asked.

Jane smiled. There were chunks of snow caught in her long blond braid, and her cheeks were bright and rosy. "It's too cold out here," she said, hugging herself. "It's been fun. Now I'm ready to go in."

"Should we— er— stop them?" Peter asked, looking at James and Sirius uncertainly.

"Nah, they'll get done with it soon enough," Jane said carelessly.

Just as she said that, James won the battle, and Sirius yelped at he plunged face-first into a large pile of snow. James backed off, looking pleased with himself, and Lily went over to join him as Sirius pushed himself out of the snow, wiping it off his face. When he looked around for James, James did the most courageous, chivalrous thing he could have possibly done in that situation.

He hid behind Lily.

"Come on," he said as Sirius advanced. "Sirius, you can't go after _Lily,_ she didn't do anything."

"I don't plan to," Sirius said as he began to pack the snow in his hands together. "Not if she gets out of the way."

"Gladly." However, when Lily tried to step aside, James seized her around the waist. "James!" She tried to struggle free, and managed to shake his balance. Instead of letting her go, he tightened his grip, and she fell into the snow with him.

Sirius snorted and tossed the snowball to land a few feet from where they were sprawled. "You're pathetic," he told James, a grin on his face. "Hiding behind your girlfriend. You should be ashamed."

James leaned over to place a very loud kiss on Lily's cheek. "But I'm not," he said.

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned away. "I'll see you back inside later," he called over his shoulder as he hurried after their friends, who had apparently tired of his antics and continued on up the castle without him.

"Hey, James," Lily said softly, gathering up some snow in her left hand. He looked down at her, and she slid her right arm around the back of his neck. He smiled and leaned down again. Just as their lips were about to touch, she brought her other hand up and rubbed the snow into his hair.

He jerked back as some of the snow fell down the side of his face. "Lily!"

She scrambled away from him, grinning, and she could hear his footsteps chasing after her. As she neared the lake, a strong wind blowing across the icy water knocked her off-balance, and James took advantage of her brief moment of being wrong-footed to tackle her. They tumbled into a snow bank together.

Despite the cold snow making its way inside of her scarf, Lily couldn't stop laughing. She heard James chuckling next to her, and propped herself up on her elbow to look at him.

He grinned up at her. "Caught you."

She bent down to brush her lips against his. "You did," she agreed. As she tried to push herself into a sitting position, he wrapped one arm around her waist again, pulling her back down.

"I need to tell you something," he said hesitantly.

Her heart stopped. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," he said, running a snow-covered glove over the back of his hair and making a face as some of it dripped down the back of his neck. "I just wanted to tell you…" he paused for a moment. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you." His face was bright red, and Lily somehow did not think that it was just from the cold.

Thankfully, she'd been thinking about saying those exact words to him so much lately that her reply was immediate and instinctive. "I love you, too, James."

His face relaxed, and he leaned over to kiss her.

As his lips met hers, Lily felt her stomach give an excited leap. She didn't think that she would ever look at snow the same way again.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hopefully this chapter was good enough to get you to forgive me for combining the stories and being incredibly inconvenient. As always, I would greatly appreciate it if you took the moment to leave me a review. Each and every one makes me smile! :)_

_This was originally written for Logamind's "I Love You" challenge on harrypotterfanfiction dot com. (I love challenges. Can you tell?)_

_Thanks for reading, and I'll get the next chapter up soon. :)_

_ - Beeezie_


	5. The Riddle of the Sphinx

The Riddle of the Sphinx

James was just coming down the stairs when he heard the knock at the door.

He froze for a moment, and then immediately berated himself for it. Why was he nervous? He shouldn't be nervous.

Pausing in front of the mirror at the bottom of the stairs, he examined himself. He ran a hand up the back of his head one more time, and then hurried across the corridor to yank open the door.

Lily had her hand raised to knock again, but she quickly let it drop back to her side. He was pleased to see that she was wearing the red leather gloves he'd given her for her birthday the year before. "Hi," she said a little breathlessly.

She was looking especially pretty that day with a belted blue coat and a skirt that he could already foresee being a problem for his concentration.

He stepped back quickly. "Er – come in."

His girlfriend stepped into his house for the first time and looked around. "Wow," she said, setting the box she was holding on the table right next to the door. He squinted at the wrapping paper, and realized after a moment that it was covered in little golden snitches that flittered their wings every few seconds. A warm feeling blossomed in his chest as she pulled her gloves off and stuffed them in her coat pocket. "This is definitely a change from my house."

Having never been to her house, James could not quite be sure what she meant, but he could guess that it had something to do with the moving pictures, the feather duster sweeping over the top of the bookshelves of its own accord, and the festive red and green orbs that hung in midair along the banister and around the frame of the front door.

"Yeah," James said uselessly. "I guess. Can I take your coat?"

He had no idea why he was this nervous. He didn't even know what he was nervous _about._ He just was.

She smiled at him and shrugged off her coat. "Are your parents in?" she asked, handing it to him.

"No," he said, looking around for the coat rack. "They'll be back this evening." He usually threw his coat on a chair or over the banister, but it would probably be in bad form to do that for Lily's. After a moment, he located it and hung her coat on it. "Hey," he said belatedly, turning around.

Lily took hold of his hands, which he hadn't actually realized that he was holding out. "Hey," she said, leaning in to kiss him softly.

It had been over a week since the last time he had seen her. He was seventeen. It was all he could do to not to sink his fingers into her thick, red hair and press her up against the wall and—

"James?" she asked uncertainly. He blinked to refocus his eyes on hers. She was only inches away from him.

"Hmm?" He hoped that for once, she would not be able to read the thoughts on his face.

"I missed you." Her green eyes were sparkling, and he knew that she could tell exactly what had been going through his mind.

He smiled back. "I missed you, too." After a moment of being captivated by her eyes, he shook himself. "So what do you want to do?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm not sure," she said. She was mere _inches_ from him. James could feel his heart begin to speed up as he put one arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "What do you want to do?"

James knew exactly what he wanted to do, but it somehow seemed in poor taste to ask his girlfriend if she wanted to have sex less than five minutes after she arrived at his house.

"I have something for you," he said instead, leaning down to kiss her. Hers had not lasted anywhere near long enough for him. When they broke apart, he added, "That's not it."

"Good," she said. "I love kissing you, but I do it all the time, and you get as much out of it as I do. It would be a really bad gift."

He smiled, but inside, he was a bundle of nerves again. What if she didn't like his gift? What if she _pretended_ to like it but hated it? What if—

She pulled away from him. "I have something for you, too." He glanced at the package on the table, but instead, she strode over to the coat rack and pulled something out of one of her pockets. He watched her curiously as she walked back toward him. It looked like some kind of cloth.

When she reached him, she held it out. It was a hat.

He stared at her in confusion. "I don't get it," he said after a moment of racking his brains trying to figure out the joke.

"Well, you're always messing up your hair because you want it to look like you just got off your broom," she said. "I wanted to make it easier for you."

After he took a moment to process that, he broke into a smile. "You're insane," he told her. "Hat hair looks _nothing _like broom hair."

She snorted. "James, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your messed up hair doesn't look anything like broom hair, either."

His smile broadened, and he took the hat and pulled it over his head. To his surprise, it was surprisingly comfortable. "Happy?"

"Very." She kissed him softly again. "No, really, I have a present." She grabbed the box off the table.

He grabbed her hand and led her into the room with the Christmas tree. She gasped, and he followed her gaze to the Christmas tree. He wasn't sure what it was that was eliciting this kind of reaction; it was a fairly normal tree. The small griffin ornaments that fluttered around it and hid in the branches were certainly unique, but other than that…

"It's just a tree," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Lily approached it, and he stepped past her to kneel down and retrieve a gift of his own from under it. When he stood back up, he found her peering into the branches at the griffin slumbering on a bed of twigs.

"That's lovely," she breathed. "Are they really alive?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Every year, Mum and Dad just re-enchant them."

She smiled. "I love it."

James led her past the fireplace to the red couch. When they'd both seated themselves at it, he held out his gift. "Here."

She shook her head. "No, you first." She handed him the box with the snitches fluttering all over it.

He briefly considered arguing, but after a moment, he took it from her. She had a little crease between her eyebrows as she watched him, and he leaned over and kissed her. "Are you okay?"

"Just open it. I don't know if you'll like it."

James very much doubted that he wouldn't like it – if for no other reason, he would like it because Lily had given it to him – but he didn't argue. Instead, he carefully unwrapped it, trying to preserve as much of the wrapping paper as possible.

Lily blew out her breath impatiently, but didn't say anything.

When he pulled the wrapping aside, he found himself left utterly speechless.

"Lily…"

She slid over, and he felt a jolt of electricity travel up his leg as they touched. "I thought you might like the snitch and the lion," she said quickly, pointing to the golden snitch slowly moving across the dark red cover of the book and the lion prowling along the bottom. "I know the wrapping paper was also…" she trailed off. "I hope I didn't go overboard."

He shook his head in amazement. "Where did you _find_ this?"

"I didn't," she said, shrugging. "I found a red book, and I enchanted it." James was very impressed, but before he could say anything, she squirmed and nudged him. "Open it."

James flipped it open and was immediately confronted with a picture of himself during a Quidditch match from their fourth year. He pushed his glasses up on his face and squinted at the narrow writing that he immediately recognized as Lily's.

_Even when you were obnoxious, I always did like watching you play._

A laugh escaped him, and he turned the page. There was a picture of him and Sirius down at the lake that looked like it had been taken in the fall of their fifth year. As he watched, the James in the picture reached up and ruffled his hair.

He looked down at what Lily had written on the bottom.

_Nothing in the world could have gotten me to admit it to you then, but it did kind of make you look cool. … Kind of._

James felt a smile spread across his face again. "I knew you always liked me, deep down," he said, looking over at her. She rolled her eyes but didn't bother to comment.

He looked at the picture on the other page. This was one that he had absolutely no recollection of; it was centered on Lily, who was sitting at a table in the corner of the common room. She kept glancing off to the side as she doodled something in her notebook.

The caption read: _So you can't actually see it, but I kept looking at you, and I was doodling pictures of snitches. I remember, because Jane caught me at it and I couldn't look at her for days._

Judging by her hair, the picture had been taken in their fifth year.

He looked up incredulously. _"Really?"_

She smiled. "Really."

James stared at her for a minute, and then, before he had consciously thought about it, he did what he'd been wanting to do since she walked in. His fingers tangled in her hair and he brought his head down to kiss her again, and as she opened her mouth, he could feel his heart accelerating wildly.

When he pulled away, she asked tentatively, "So do you like it?"

He stared at her for a minute. "I love it," he said, brushing her hair back from her face. "It's perfect."

"Oh, good." She slumped back into the couch and let out a sigh. "I was afraid you wouldn't." James leaned back, too, and casually slipped his arm around her shoulder. Lily glanced at him. "That doesn't mean you weren't obnoxious back then or that I actually wanted to go out with you."

He pressed his free hand to his heart and said, "Thanks, Lily. You really know how to make a guy feel special."

Her lips curved into a smile. "I try."

After a moment, James glanced down at the floor and realized belatedly that he had something for her, too. He leaned down to retrieve the boxes, inadvertently clapping his hand over one of the sphinxes wandering around the side. It started and raced over the top and down a safer side, and Lily gave a cry of delight.

"Here," he said, feeling gratified that she at least appreciated the wrapping paper. He'd dragged Sirius all over Diagon Alley looking for something suitable the day after they'd gotten home for Christmas. By the time he'd found something he was satisfied with, Sirius had been so cross that James had given him half of his present early to make amends.

Lily plucked the smaller box off the top and began to open the wrapping paper with the same care that he had used, and he suddenly found himself sympathizing wholeheartedly with her impatience a few minutes before. When she finally pulled it away, laying it carefully on the couch next to her, she examined at the jewelry box in her hand.

"Just open it," he urged. She darted a quick glance at him, but pulled the lid up.

Her face immediately broke into a smile. "Oh, James!"

He leaned over to examine the earrings in the box. Each had a small golden loop, within which a sphinx was sitting elegantly. Other than the tail that trailed down past the bottom of the ring and whisked back and forth, it was completely still.

"There was one that walked around," he said after a moment as she continued to stare into the box. "But I thought that you might want something you could wear at home, and I figured…"

Lily turned a radiant smile on him. "James, they're perfect." She admired them for another moment or two, her head cocked to the side, and then she plucked them out of the box and slipped them into her earlobes.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Lily had a deep appreciation of sphinxes, but he'd been afraid that it wouldn't be enough to base his entire Christmas gift around. Sirius had assured him that it would be, but Sirius was also oddly obsessed with sphinxes, so James hadn't been sure whether to trust him.

Lily fingered her new earrings delicately for a moment before turning back to the bigger box. She pulled off the paper, and James felt his heart beginning to hammer again as she held up, _The Riddle of the Sphinx (and other wizarding tales)._

She flipped it open, a slight crease between her eyebrows, and he said quickly, "It's a collection of wizarding legends about sphinxes. Elise Penn wrote it, she's one of the…" he trailed off as Lily turned her head to look at him, looking faintly bemused.

"James, I know who Elise Penn is," she said. "But I've never even _heard_ of this. Where on earth did you get it?"

He felt his heart rate returning to normal again. "It was a limited printing," he said as she turned back to it. Her hair fell into her line of vision, and she pushed it back impatiently.

"So how did you find it?" she asked, without taking her eyes off the illustration of the pyramids and a sphinx pacing below them on the title page.

He swallowed. "I saw it in a shop, so I bought it. Do you like it?"

In reality, the entire thing had been a bit more complicated than that – he'd really gone to a lot of effort to search out the book, and had spent more money on it than he would ever admit to her. It would probably just make her feel uncomfortable.

But money was just money, and he had more than enough of it. He only had one girlfriend, and he wanted to make her smile.

"I love it," she said, looking up from the book. James closed his eyes as her lips pressed against his, and started violently when she began to trail her fingers lightly up the back of his neck. "I love you," she added, pulling back slightly. "I really, really do."

James had absolutely no control over the grin spreading across his face. "I love you, too," he said, brushing his lips against hers. "I really, really do."

Lily closed the book carefully and set it aside. "Why don't you show me your bedroom?" she suggested, her green eyes twinkling.

He jumped up so quickly that she laughed. "I'd love to," he said, taking her hand and leading her up the creaky wooden stairs.

* * *

><em>AN: So this was my first attempt at writing from James's point of view. How did I do?

Thanks for reading, and I would really love it if you left a review. :)

Beeezie 

_


	6. Muggle Bakeries

Muggle Bakeries

"What are you so excited about?" Petunia asked from just outside the open bathroom door.

Lily spun around, inadvertently catching some of her hair on the brush that was still in her hand. "Damn!" She glanced back at the mirror and sighed. Now it was messy again. She looked back at Petunia as she began to work the brush through her hair again. "Didn't I tell you?"

Petunia shook her head, her lips slightly pursed. "No."

"Oh!" Lily put the brush back on the sink and reexamined herself in the mirror. Her thick, dark red hair spilled down across her shoulders perfectly, and she smiled. "James is coming over," she said, looking back at her sister.

"Your boyfriend?" Petunia asked warily, crossing her arms over her sensible brown polo neck.

Lily nodded, barely able to contain her excitement. She looked back in the mirror one more time, and was suddenly hit with the realization that she rather resembled a Christmas tree. She rushed out of the bathroom and down the hall to her room.

Petunia followed her at a much more leisurely pace, arriving just as Lily was peeling off her green cardigan in favor of a red one. "Does this look okay?" she said, looking anxiously over at Petunia as she straightened it out.

After a moment, her sister shook her head. "I don't like it with the green skirt," she said. "You've just traded in looking like a Christmas tree for looking like Christmas itself."

Lily groaned and began rummaging in her closet. "How's this?" she asked, holding up a cord tan skirt.

"That's fine." Petunia sat gingerly on the edge of Lily's bed, glancing suspiciously at _The Riddle of the Sphinx._ She hesitated, and then asked, "He's not like that _other_ one, is he?"

Lily glanced over at Petunia. "Who, Severus?" Petunia nodded, and Lily snorted in amusement. "Definitely not. James _hates_ Severus."

Petunia seemed to brighten a little at that. "Is he going to be here all day?"

Lily shook her head. "No, first we're going to go up to West St. He's never really properly been in the muggle world, can you believe that?" She slipped out of the green skirt and into the tan one.

"Is he staying for dinner?" Petunia asked, choosing not to comment on Lily's use of the words "muggle world."

Lily nodded and sank into her desk chair. "Oh, Tuney, I know you'll like him. He's really great."

Petunia smoothed a hand over her immaculate bun awkwardly and said, "Maybe you both could have dinner with me and Vernon in a few days."

"I'd like that," Lily said, feeling a smile spread across her face. From what she'd seen of Vernon – which admittedly wasn't very much – she didn't especially like him, but the fact that Petunia was showing any interest in James at all was more than enough reason to make the effort.

Maybe he would surprise her.

They heard the doorbell, and Lily leapt up. She opened her mouth, and her sister said, in a rather bored voice, "You look fine."

"Thanks." Lily smiled at her before running out of her room and down the stairs.

"Hello, Mrs. Evans," she heard James say politely.

Her mother must have gotten to the door first. "You must be James," she said. "Come in."

Lily skipped the last several steps in her haste and literally fell into her boyfriend's arms. "Hi," she said breathlessly.

He smiled at her, and she felt her heart speed up. This was absolutely ridiculous. She'd just seen him a few days ago.

It didn't matter.

"Hi," he said, wrapping his arms around her in a rather crushing hug that she quite enjoyed.

Lily's mother cleared her throat, and James pulled back from the hug quickly.

"We've heard a great deal about you," Lily's mother said, and a smile spread across James's face. "Can I take your coat?" her mother asked.

James glanced at Lily, and she quickly said, "No, Mum, we were going to go up to West St. for a couple hours. We'll be back before dinner, promise."

It was a mark of how exhausting this Christmas had been for her mother that she didn't argue the point. Instead, she gave Lily a hug and exchanged brief pleasantries with James while Lily got her coat, hat, and gloves.

"Bye, Mum," Lily said as they stepped out into the biting December air.

When the door had closed behind them, James reached out to grab her hand. She took it, and at the end of the walk, she stopped him to give him a quick kiss.

"I missed you," he said softly, his breath forming mist in the air.

"You just saw me three days ago," Lily pointed out as they started walking again, and he threw back his head and laughed.

"Says the girl who found me so irresistible she literally threw herself at me not ten minutes ago."

James had certainly mellowed considerably since their fifth year, but he was still definitely the same old James.

Lily was glad for that.

"So what are we doing?" he asked.

A smile spread across her face, despite the cold. "You, my dear, _irresistible _boyfriend, are going to experience the wonder of muggle bakeries."

"Wizarding bakeries are way better," James said dismissively, and she elbowed him. "What? We have all kinds of charms that keep things fresh and warm for months. Could you take months to finish a box of your favourite biscuits?"

"No," Lily said, "nor would I want to. What kind of person leaves perfectly good biscuits sitting around for months?" Her breath formed little puffs in the air, and she shoved her hands further into her pockets for warmth.

James just shook his head. "You don't know what you're missing."

They'd reached the shop, and Lily reached out to pull the door open. "No, you don't know what _you're_ missing," she said. "But you're about to."

"Hey, Mum, we're back!" Lily called as she pulled off her boots. The strong scent of garlic and olive oil was wafting out of the kitchen, and she took a deep breath. "That smells amazing."

Her mother stuck her head out of the kitchen. "It'll probably be another forty minutes. Your aunt called, and I spent longer talking to her than I meant to."

"That's fine," Lily said brightly, taking James's hand. "Do you need any help?"

Her mother shook her head and disappeared, and Lily led James into the living room, where they both collapsed onto the couch.

"Well?" she asked, looking up at her boyfriend's flushed face.

A grin spread across his face. "I think that maybe you have a point."

Lily cupped a hand to her ear. "Sorry, what was that?"

He leaned down to brush his lips against hers. "I said, you're right, as usual."

She smiled at him and reached up to brush his hair back from his forehead. Before she could say anything, however, she heard a quiet cough from the doorway. She looked over to see Petunia come into the room and perch herself on one of the chairs. James got up immediately and held out his hand. "You must be Petunia," he said. "I'm James."

She looked slightly anxious for a moment, but she took it. "Nice to meet you."

James settled back onto the couch next to Lily, and they sat in silence for a minute.

Just as the silence was becoming uncomfortable, Petunia piped up again. "Is it true that you hate that _awful_ Snape boy?"

Lily clapped a hand to her face. Only her sister would jump to that as an icebreaker for someone she had just met.

"Yes," she heard James say heartily, and she looked up at him. His eyes were shining with unveiled dislike. "He's _horrible._ Slimy little _git."_

James was still smarting from the incident in the Potions dungeon. Lily couldn't really blame him; she hadn't even called him on the several jinxes he'd hit Severus with before the Christmas holiday.

A small smile was spreading across Petunia's face. "I don't think he ever washes his hair. I still see him sometimes, you know, when I'm down that way in the summer. I don't think he recognizes me."

"He knew you?" James asked curiously.

Petunia's expression turned sour. "No, not really, but that didn't stop him from dropping a branch on me or going through my _personal _things." Lily winced a little at that. She'd never stopped regretting letting Severus talk her into that. "He told me I didn't matter because I'm not a witch."

Lily was not surprised when James stiffened, and he said, "What a—" Lily elbowed him, and he cleared his throat before saying, "He's a git. I hate him."

Petunia smiled tightly. "I like this one much better," she told Lily.

"Good," Lily said. "I do, too."

James gave a soft chuckle under his breath and wrapped his arm around her. Petunia looked at them for a moment, and then got up. "I'm going to help Mum with dinner," she said.

When Petunia had left the room, James leaned down to whisper in Lily's ear, "I showed you my room. You show me yours."

A smile spread across her face. "All right." She got to her feet and led him by the hand out of the living room and into the hallway. She peeked toward the kitchen, but her mother appeared to be talking to Petunia, and they rushed past the doorway quickly. Lily saw Petunia's mouth twitch a little when she saw them, and heard her sister say, "Mum, can you get out the carrots when I chop the onions?"

At the bottom of the steps, Lily stopped James and said in an undertone, "Stay on the carpet." He looked a little taken aback, but followed her lead as she stepped softly up the stairs.

At the top, however, he asked with some bemusement, "What, are you not allowed to have me up here?"

Lily shrugged as he stopped to examine a picture hanging on the wall of her and Petunia from before Lily had started at Hogwarts. "They never told me I wasn't, but it Mum saw me bringing you up here, she'd probably suddenly decide that she needed my help, after all."

"Weird," James said. She wasn't sure if he was referring to the photograph with the stationary figures in it, or Lily's mother's sentiments. He followed her down the hallway to her bedroom, and when they entered it, he looked around with interest. "So this is where Lily Evans lives when she's not at Hogwarts." He made his way over to her bed and flopped onto it. "Oh, this is comfortable. I didn't expect a Muggle bed to be so comfortable." He stretched out, and his hand hit something that she'd wedged in between her mattress and the wall. "What's this?"

"Nothing," Lily said quickly.

Too quickly. He pulled the book out and scrutinized it. "Is this your _diary?"_ An enormous grin was spreading across his face.

Lily could feel her face going red. "James, put it back."

He ignored her and flipped open to a random page. "You know, James Potter has really grown on me," he read aloud, and glanced over at her in interest. "Lily, dear, your face is red."

"James, put it back," she repeated.

He ignored her. "I mean, I knew he'd grown on me, but I had a dream about him the other night, and I was _so_ disappointed when I woke up."

She reached over to snatch the diary out of his hands, and he moved it to just out of her reach.

"I used to really find him obnoxious, but now I just can't stop thinking about him. I daydream about his amazing hair, and what it would be like to _be_with him, I've never been with anyone before, and I bet James Potter is just absolutely amazing in—"

Lily finally managed to yank the diary out of his hands. "I did _not_ write that," she said, her face still red.

"No, I made that part up," he agreed, grinning. "But it's true."

She fell onto the bed next to him and stuffed her diary back down the side of the bed. "You're an arse sometimes, you know that?" she said.

He wrapped an arm around her, and she snuggled into him. "I know," he said cheerfully. "Why are you going out with me, again?"

"Your looks," Lily said blithely. "You're my trophy boyfriend." He snorted, and she moved her head up to rest on his chest. The soft cloth of his jumper rubbed against her cheek, and she closed her eyes. "I love you," she said softly.

James began to run his fingers through her hair, and she let out a contented sigh. "I love you, too," he whispered. He continued to run his hand down her back, and she let out a gasp as he reached the bottom of her jumper and slipped his hand underneath it. When she picked her head up, she could see a broad grin on his face.

Lily used her elbow as leverage to push herself up the few centimetres to kiss the small part of his chest left exposed, and he stiffened.

She moved over to the side of his neck and bit down softly, and underneath the hand that still lay on his chest, she could feel his heart speeding up.

"I love you," he breathed as she swung one of her legs over his and pushed herself up to press her lips against his. As she trailed her hand down his side, where she knew that he was especially sensitive, he groaned into her mouth and ran his free hand down her leg. When he reached the bottom of her skirt, he began to push it up, and she broke off the kiss to bury her face in his neck to let out a whimper.

Footsteps thudded on the stairs and they immediately disentangled, during which Lily accidentally hit James in the face as he elbowed her in the stomach.

"Ow," they said at the same time as she pushed herself into a sitting position and nervously tugged at her skirt and jumper.

A knock sounded on the door, and Petunia's loud whisper sounded from just outside the door. "Are you decent?"

"Yes," Lily said quickly, and her sister's head appeared in the doorway.

"Mum just realized that you weren't downstairs. I told her that James wanted to borrow a book for an assignment, but you'd better come down now."

Lily felt a smile spread across her face, and she had a sudden flash of intense affection for her sister. "Thanks, Tuney."

Petunia let out a genuine smile before disappearing again, and after a moment, they heard her footsteps on the stairs again.

Lily looked at James regretfully. His hair was still tousled, and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was tempted to risk her parents' wrath.

She could relate.

"We'd better go," she said unhappily.

He made a face. "Damn."

She grabbed her Potions book off her desk before they left the room and handed it to him. As they made their way down the hallway, Lily commented, "She must like you, to have covered for us."

"She wouldn't have just done it for you?" he asked in puzzlement, and Lily shook her head.

"No, that's not the way Tuney works. If she didn't like you, she wouldn't cover for us because she'd want to make my parents not like you in hopes that I'd break up with you."

He considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "I still don't get it."

Lily leaned up to kiss him softly. "That's okay. You don't have to."

James smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I love you," he said as they started down the stairs.

She leaned her head against his shoulder. "I love you, too, James."

When they'd reached the bottom, Lily saw her sister's face in the doorway of the kitchen. She mouthed 'Thank you,' and Petunia rolled her eyes and turned away, a smile on her face.

As they made their way back into the living room, Lily felt her spirits lift. For Tuney to even _consider_ liking James was a very good sign that the thoughts that had been swirling through her head lately – that James might really be it, or the one, or whatever people wanted to call it – were going to turn out to be true.

Before they sat back down on the couch, she stopped him and wrapped her arms around him. He returned the hug. "Are you okay?" he asked in confusion.

She looked up at him and nodded. "I'm just glad you're here, and that I'm with you."

His eyes were shining as he replied, "I'm glad, too."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Yay, new chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed it (and yes, she will be meeting James's parents soon, haha)!_

_As I've said on my profile page, I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be updating - this is kind of my secondary fanfiction site, and it's getting hard for me to keep up with both. I find the editing process and the review response processes in particular here to be really time-consuming and difficult, and those are two of the things I really care about. :/ I'm over at harrypotterfanfiction dot com under the same username, if you'd like to follow me over there, I'd love to see you. :)_

_Beeezie_


	7. Deep Dark Secrets

Dinner was, predictably, very interesting. Sarah probably would have referred to it as "an experience."

Lily wasn't sure what was more amusing: James attempting to describe Quidditch to her father, or the sight of Petunia politely asking James to pass the potatoes. Lily rather suspected that James's vehement dislike of Severus had done a lot to win her sister over.

After they'd finished, Lily said, "Mum, do you want any help cleaning up?"

Her mother glanced at James. "No, it's fine. Petunia and your father can help me. Why don't you two go wait for us in the living room?"

The implied warning not to go upstairs again did not escape Lily's notice, and she forced a smile onto her face. "If you're sure."

Her mother waved her hand toward the doorway, and Lily led James back into the living room. They collapsed onto the couch again, and Lily curled up against him.

As they waited for her parents and Petunia to join them, James bent down and murmured in her ear, "After this, do you want to come back to my place?"

She glanced up at him in surprise. Behind his glasses, his eyes were glittering, and a smile was creeping its way across his face.

Lily hesitated, and he added, "Come on. I don't even mean like that. I'm just dying for some alone time with you."

Whether or not he meant it like that, she knew that going back to his place would result in exactly that. However, Lily was not actually opposed to the idea; her hormones had never quite settled down since they'd been interrupted before dinner.

"Won't your parents mind?" she asked softly, and he shrugged.

"Nah. They'll probably be asleep, anyway. They're old. They go to sleep early."

"They don't wait up for you?" Lily found that idea to be distinctly odd; her parents always waited up for her when she was out with friends.

James snorted. "No. Definitely not. If I'm out with Sirius, sometimes I don't get home until dawn."

Lily felt a sudden stab of insecurity. "Out doing what?"

"You don't want to know." She stiffened a little despite herself, and he looked away from the fire and down at her face. "What, you think—" She shrugged. "God, Lily. No. Jesus, I'll tell you later. It's nothing like _that_. We're just sometimes doing things that are not strictly legal."

"You're _what?"_she exclaimed in a voice that was louder than she'd meant it to be. The noise in the kitchen stopped for a moment, and she lowered it. "What do you mean?"

He groaned. "I'll tell you later," he said. "What does that box do, anyway?" He pointed at the television set.

Lily felt a smile spread across her face. "I'll show you."

Predictably, it took her about ten minutes to convince James that the television was not actually evidence that muggles could do magic.

* * *

><p>The rest of the evening passed pleasantly enough. Petunia left shortly after dinner to go meet Vernon, though when she hugged Lily goodbye, she had reiterated her suggestion of the four of them getting dinner together before Lily went back to school, which left Lily feeling quite positive.<p>

Her parents seemed to have decided that they liked James quite a bit, even if he probably was sleeping with their daughter, and he remained on his best behavior all evening.

As the evening progressed, however, her mother glanced at the clock a few times. Once it hit nine, she asked James very pleasantly if his parents would be worried about him.

"Oh, no," James said. "They trust me, and anyway, if my curfew was before they went to bed, I'd have to be home around eight or nine every night." At the surprise on Lily's parents' faces, he added, "Well, they _are_almost a hundred."

Lily's mother's eyebrows shot up, and her father choked on the biscuit he'd been eating.

"Surely you're exaggerating," Lily's mother said, and James shrugged.

"They just had me really late. They were born in the early 1880s."

Lily's father glanced at her, and she said quickly, "Witches and wizards live longer than muggles, Dad, I've told you that." She glanced up at her boyfriend. "James was just their happy little miracle, weren't you, sweetie?"

He made a face at her teasing and changed the subject.

Once the clock began to near ten, Lily's father stood up. "Well, James, it was nice to meet you," he said. "You'll forgive us, but we're getting old, too, and we get tired early."

James popped up and held out his hand. "It was very nice to meet you too, sir," he said.

Lily's mother leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Feel free to come back anytime," she said warmly, and glanced over at Lily. "Ten minutes."

Lily wavered for a moment, and then made her decision. "We were actually— er— planning to go meet some friends of ours."

Lily's mother glanced up at the clock. "Now?" she asked incredulously, and Lily winced.

"It's Jane's birthday," she said, choosing a friend that her parents had actually met to add some credibility to her story. "She's celebrating at the Leaky Cauldron."

"The Leaky Cauldron," her father said slowly. "That's that pub by Diagon Alley?" Lily nodded, and her parents exchanged a glance.

"I don't know, Lily," her mother said after a moment. "It's already late." She sighed. "Who else is going to be there?"

Lily hoped that her face looked innocent rather than tense. "Oh, just some of our friends. Sarah was planning to go, and Sirius, Remus…" She trailed off; her parents weren't listening.

Her father looked at James. "Are you going?" he asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.

James nodded. "Well, yeah. I'm not one of Jane's best friends like Lily is—" Her mother looked at her sharply, and Lily was suddenly very glad that James was so good at talking himself out of trouble. "—but we're still pretty close, especially since she's kind of going out with my best mate."

That was a flat out lie, or at least it had been last time Lily checked, but she didn't challenge it. She waited a moment, and then said, in an attempt to appease her parents, "Mum, it's okay if you don't want me to go. I told Jane you might not."

Her parents exchanged another look. "Lily, we don't want to spoil your fun," her father said slowly. "We just worry, sometimes."

She nodded and tried to look just disappointed enough that they would feel guilty without feeling defensive.

"When would you be getting home?" her mother asked after another minute.

Lily shrugged. "I'm not sure. Jane was talking about just staying at the Leaky Cauldron for an hour or two, and then she wanted the girls to come back to her house for the night." Her parents both seemed to relax a little, and she added, "But I don't have to go to that, I can just come home."

She knew that the part that concerned her parents was not the idea of her staying over at a female friend's house, and sure enough, her mother said, "Oh, no, Lily, that's not what concerns us."

"If you want, I can just wait and meet them there," Lily offered, and her mother sighed.

"No, Lily, it's fine," she said after a moment. "Have fun with your friends. Why don't you ask Jane to come by for lunch this weekend? I'll make her something nice for her birthday."

Lily nodded. "I'll ask her," she promised.

After a fairly protracted goodbye in which both of her parents made her promise to "stay safe," she and James grabbed their coats. There were two loud cracks in the front hall, and they were gone.

They appeared a few seconds later just outside James's house, and he grinned at her. "I never knew you had it in you to lie like that," he teased.

"Oh, stop it." She shoved him gently. "What was that about Jane going out with your best mate?"

He shrugged. "Well, Remus fancies her. I figured that was good enough."

"Does he?" Lily processed that for a minute as they made their way up the walkway toward his house. "Huh."

James unlocked the door and opened it quietly. He held a finger to his lips. "Mum's a really light sleeper," he said softly. "She's getting over a cold, so I don't want to wake her."

He began to creep slowly up the stairs, and Lily followed suit. Once they reached his room and closed the door, he said in a normal voice, "Be as loud as you want in here. I've had a silencing charm around it since my fourth year." He tossed his coat over the chair next to the desk that looked like it hadn't been used in years and kicked his shoes off. After a moment, she did the same. "Your family seems really nice," he said, collapsing onto his bed.

"Tuney was on her best behavior," Lily told him, pulling her gloves and hat off and setting them down on top of her coat. "I think you won her over by insulting Severus."

James snorted. "Well, the feeling was mutual." He patted the bed next to him. "Come here, will you?" She joined him, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Glad you came?" he murmured.

She nodded, leaning into his embrace. "Tell me something you've never told me," she said. He didn't say anything for a minute, and she twisted her neck to look at him. His brow was furrowed, and he appeared to be deep in thought.

"Something like what?" he asked.

Lily shrugged. "Anything." When another silence followed that, she looked back up at him. "Come on, there must be something you haven't told me."

He swallowed audibly. "Oh, there is," he said. "But…" His voice trailed off, but after a moment, he seemed to make a decision. "Okay. You have to promise that you won't tell anyone."

"All right," she agreed.

"Really," he added. "I'm serious. I could get into a lot of trouble for it."

Now she was really curious. "I won't. What is it?" She shifted her position so that she could more easily see his face. "James?"

He looked more serious than she'd even seen him look before. "Promise," he said. "Swear to me that you won't ever tell a soul."

"I _won't,"_ she repeated. "God, did you _kill_someone or something?"

James bit his lip. "I…" She waited patiently, but nothing followed. He tried again. "I'm an animagus."

Lily studied him. On one hand, she found it rather unbelievable that her seventeen-year old boyfriend could possibly be an animagus, but on the other, he didn't _look_like he was joking. She searched for an appropriate question, but came up blank. "What?" was all she could manage.

He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I'm an animagus," he repeated.

_"How?"_

"Well, we kind of taught ourselves," he said. Lily wasn't sure whether he was just talking about Sirius, or if Remus and Peter were included in that as well.

However, that question was not the most pressing one on her mind. _"Why?"_she asked.

James looked away from her. "That I can't tell you." At the look of indignation that spread across her face, he added, "It's not my place, okay? I can't tell you other people's secrets."

What exactly he was alluding to suddenly clicked, and she let out a deep breath, thinking about whether it would be reasonable to push him a little further to assuage the curiosity that had been plaguing her for the last several years. "All right," she said after a moment, making her decision. "I guess that's fair." He relaxed, and she asked, "So what do you turn into, anyway?"

He grinned. "A stag." Now that he'd gauged her reaction and she'd agreed not to press into his friends' personal secrets, his demeanor had shifted back to normal. There was a slight smirk spreading across his face, and his hand had instinctively jumped to the back of his head. "Want to see?"

She bit her lip, trying to hide her smile. Her boyfriend could really be an idiot sometimes. "Sure."

He clambered off the bed and over to the other side of the room. He turned to face her. The smirk had broadened, and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Then it was gone, and in its place was a large stag. She let out a shriek and clapped her hands over her mouth as it tossed its head, and then in another instant, it was gone and James was hurrying back across the room.

"You…" She pointed at the corner. "You…"

Lily didn't know what she'd been expecting. She knew what an animagus was. McGonagall had transformed in front of their class before. However, she had never seen anything as big as a stag before, and to watch her boyfriend to do in his _bedroom…_

"Yeah," he said, kissing her cheek and putting his arms around her. "I know. Pretty cool, right?"

She swallowed hard. Her heart was still pounding wildly. "Very," she said, trying to calm herself down. She had not expected that to be such a shock. "But James, that could get you in _serious_ trouble. That's… that's… that could get you sent to _Azkaban."_

She had no idea if that was true or not, but she did know that being an unregistered animagus was highly,_highly_illegal, for fairly obvious reasons.

James swept her hair out of his way as he lowered his head to kiss her neck. "Maybe," he breathed. The feel of his breath on her neck made her shiver. "So, does it impress you?" he asked. "Does it make you want to haul me off to a broom closet?"

Lily snorted. "We're in your bed, you idiot," she said. "Why on earth would I want to go to a broom closet?"

She could feel him shrug his shoulders. "Habit? That extra little thrill? I don't know." He pulled back a little, and she twisted around to face him. "You do think it's cool, right?" he asked, a tinge of uncertainty making its way into his voice.

"Yes," she said, not trying to hide the little bit of admiration she was feeling from creeping into her voice. "James, that's really amazing."

He beamed. If there was one thing that could never fail to raise her boyfriend's spirits, it was praise. "I know," he said, his hand jumping to the back of his head again. "You know, I've been able to do that since my fifth year."

She jerked back. "You're _joking."_He shook his head, clearly pleased with her reaction. "Bloody hell, James. That's…" After a moment, she threw her hands up. She didn't even have the words.

"I know." James leaned in to kiss her. When he pulled away, he was smirking again. "Tell the truth," he said. "It makes you want me more, doesn't it?"

Lily rolled her eyes, but after a moment, she admitted, "Maybe a little." She glanced around the room. "So is that what you were talking earlier?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. "Not exactly," he said after a minute.

She put her head on his shoulder. "Tell me."

James wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "I am so in love with you," he said softly.

Lily felt a smile spread across her face of its own accord. "I know the feeling," she replied, and twisted around to brush her lips against his cheek. "I love you." He smiled, and she leaned back into the embrace. "But I am serious. Tell me."

He laughed. It was a deep-chested, carefree sort of laugh, and she found it utterly infectious, and she nuzzled up against him to listen to what was sure to be a ridiculous story.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Very long time no update - sorry. I'd really stopped coming to ff dot net for awhile, but now that I'm posting a sequel to my Rose/Scorpius on here as thanks for all the support I got on my first one, I'm here and I thought I'd update this. I hope you liked it, and if you can't wait for Lily to meet James's parents... well, that'll happen next chapter, so you won't have to wait too long._

_Also - I've posted a new chapter 2 as well that's about their first date, if you're at all curious._


	8. Mrs Potter

The next morning, James did not appear to see waking up as a priority, and Lily was more than happy to follow his lead. After several unsuccessful attempts to wake him up through the door, his mother finally got fed up and barged in at around 11.

She stopped dead when she saw that her son was not alone in bed.

"James," she said in a vaguely accusing tone, "you didn't say that you had company."

Given that her hair was a mess and that she was wearing a Quidditch jersey that belonged to James, Lily felt that characterising her as 'company' might have been more polite than strictly accurate, but James just shrugged and pulled her closer.

"Yeah," he said sleepily. "This is Lily."

His mother surveyed them for a moment before saying, "Come downstairs and I'll make you both breakfast. You can introduce her then." She left the room.

Lily could not recall a time when she had felt more mortified than she did right now.

She rubbed her eyes, hoping very much that she was dreaming.

Unfortunately, when she opened her eyes, nothing had changed.

James struggled up so he was leaning on an elbow to look down at her. "What's wrong?" he asked curiously.

Lily groaned. "That was not the first impression I wanted your mother to have of me."

"What wasn't?"

She rolled over and stared at him. James could be a bit dense sometimes, but this was bad even for him. "James, look at what I'm _wearing."_

He glanced down. "My favourite jersey." He shrugged. "I like seeing you in my shirts. I associate it with sex."

Lily loved her boyfriend very much. He was an amazing guy. And right now she wanted nothing better than to smack him.

"Most people do," she said through clenched teeth. "And you don't even _have_ a shirt on."

"I don't like sleeping in shirts," he said reasonably. "And this _is_ my bedroom. I can sleep however I like."

She smacked him lightly. "Do you know how this _looks?"_

He thought about it for a minute, and she could feel his hand beginning to creep up her leg. "Like we're sleeping together," he said eventually. "But what's the problem with that? We _are_ sleeping together." He used his other arm to pull her closer and leaned in for a kiss.

She returned it, and as he deepened the kiss and continued to slide his hand up her thigh, she felt herself getting lost in his mouth and his touch. Before she'd completely lost all semblance of good sense, however, a tiny ray of logic pierced through the haze that always seemed to accompany his kisses.

She pulled away, and he cocked his head to one side and looked at her curiously. "What?"

"If we keep going, we're going to have sex again," she said, trying not to think about how very close he was to her and how much her instincts were screaming at her to not interrupt it.

"Probably," he said, edging down and brushing his lips across her neck. "What's the problem with that?"

She let out a low moan. "James," she said breathlessly, "I want to, I do, but—" He bit down gently, and she felt certain that her heart was about to leap out of her chest.

"So what's stopping you?" he murmured, coming back up to kiss her again.

She enjoyed it for a moment before remembering that she needed to _not_ be doing this. She pulled away, and he rolled onto his back and groaned.

"I don't want your mother to come back in and find us… you know," Lily said, edging away from him. James's half-naked body was far too tempting for her.

He made a face. "You're probably right," he said after a minute. "I wish you weren't."

"Believe me," she said strongly, "so do I."

He rolled out of bed and began to rummage through his laundry basket as she sat up. "Lily, don't worry so much, okay?" he said. "My parents aren't like yours. They really don't care."

Lily had no idea whether than was true. On one hand, she'd begun to think that a lot of James's behavior probably had something to do with the fact that his parents clearly doted on him and had never really imposed any rules on him.

On the other, if they were really born in the 1800s, she had a hard time believing that they wouldn't judge her at least a little.

When they entered the kitchen, James slid into a chair and greeted his mother cheerfully. After the necessary introductions, she leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He made a face, and she gave him a slight shove.

With a sigh, he got up and disappeared into what appeared to be the bathroom. His mother turned to Lily and smiled.

"You were raised a Muggle, then?" Mrs. Potter asked in interest after they'd exchanged pleasantries. Lily nodded, privately amused at Mrs. Potter's choice of words. "How _interesting_. Tea, my dear?"

"Yes please," Lily said quickly. She glanced toward the bathroom door. While Mrs. Potter did not appear to be about to launch into a lecture about premarital sex, she couldn't help but be a little nervous.

Mrs. Potter leaned over and said conspiratorially, "I told him that he _had_ to do something about that hair. If he's going to have a lady over, he needs to take some pride in his appearance. He's not twelve anymore."

Lily managed to quell her urge to laugh only with great difficulty. "I think it might be a losing battle," she said as the bathroom door opened.

James's hair was clearly a little damp, but as far as she could tell, that was the only difference. His mother made a faint sound of disapproval before turning back to the stove.

James slid into the seat next to Lily and whispered, "You've become the newest weapon in Mum's arsenal to make me control my hair."

"I heard that," his mother said. "Your father's the one who's going deaf, not me."

James looked around. "Where is Dad, anyway?"

"He went out," Mrs. Potter said. "He wanted to pick some things up for New Year's. We didn't know that you were here," she said apologetically to Lily. "Otherwise he would have stayed, of course. We've heard _so_much about you."

"Really?" Lily glanced at James, who seemed to have suddenly become very interested in his tea.

Mrs. Potter smiled as she transferred the bacon from its pan to a plate. "Oh, my, yes," she said, sliding the platter in front of them. "We've been hearing about his 'friend' Lily for years."

From her tone, it was clear that James's mother did not regard his feelings for Lily as a recent development.

Lily sneaked another peek at James, whose cheeks were looking rather red. "Thanks, Mum," he muttered.

On impulse, Lily leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "I think it's sweet," she said, and the corners of his mouth twitched upward.

"You see?" his mother said as she broke the eggs. "Oh, I'm sorry, my dear," she said, glancing over at Lily. "You're not one of those _vegetins_, are you?"

James snorted. "Vegetarian, Mum." She waved the correction off, and Lily shook her head as she took a strip of bacon off the plate. "Oh, good. You know, James's friend Sirius once brought a girl here for his birthday dinner, and she said that she didn't eat meat. Ever." Mrs. Potter looked back at the stove. "It's just unnatural."

While his mother's back was turned, James rolled his eyes at Lily, who bit her lip to keep from grinning.

James's mother was certainly a character.

After they'd finished eating, James led Lily back upstairs. "So, that's my mum," he said as he flopped onto his bed. _"Vegetins_, honestly."

"Do wizards not have vegetarians?" Lily asked curiously as she sat down cross-legged on his bed. "Or did they just not exist when your mother was growing up?"

James shrugged. "They must have, right? I think that she's just blocking it out because she finds it strange." His hand went to his hair, which had finally begun to flatten a bit, and immediately messed it up again. "She loves to embarrass me, and she doesn't have many opportunities."

Lily laughed. "She seems nice," she said, tucking her hair behind her ears.

Her boyfriend grinned. "I told you it would be fine. She really doesn't care."

Lily was hit with her second wave of paranoia in less than a day. "You know from experience?" she asked, hoping she sounded lighthearted.

His eyes narrowed a little. "Sorry?"

She decided to let it go. She did not need her boyfriend to think that she was a paranoid idiot. "Nothing."

He wasn't fooled. "Lily, that's the second time in less than a day that you've tried to casually ask me about other girls."

She could feel her face get hotter. "I—er—"

He sat up, looking more than a little disgusted. "Is that really how I come off? That I'm running around with other girls behind your back or something?"

When he tried to stare into her eyes, she looked down at the bedspread, which was covered in glittering golden snitches.

"Lily?" He put his hand under her chin, and she allowed him to lift her head. "Seriously," he said softly. "Is that _really_ how I come off?"

She sighed and looked away again. "No," she muttered. "James, just forget it, okay?"

He snorted. "Yeah, right. That's going to happen. You've known me how long?"

That got a slight smile out of her.

He reached out and brushed a few stray strands of hair back from her face. "What happened?" he asked. "You've never asked me anything like that before."

She sighed. "It was just something that Emily said to me before we left for the holiday."

James made a face. He had never liked the seventh year Ravenclaw prefect, even before she'd gotten the power to put him in detention. "What did Emily say?" he asked, in a tone of forced calm.

"I was talking to Jane in the library," Lily said. James was wearing his stubborn face. He wasn't going to let this go, so it was better to just get it over with. "She was feeling kind of down because she asked Remus out and he said no." She gave him a curious look. "Didn't you say last night that he fancied her?"

James shrugged. "Talk to Remus," he said lightly. "He's a strange bloke sometimes."

Lily briefly considered pressing the issue. She knew her boyfriend well enough to know when he was hiding something. After a moment, however, she decided that now probably wasn't the time.

"Jane was just feeling confused, because he'd been giving her lots of mixed signals." James just nodded attentively, and Lily sighed again. Right now was not the time to champion Jane's cause, but she'd have to get to the bottom of this soon. "Emily was walking by, and she commented that Remus had probably just gotten bored of her and moved onto someone else, because that was what teenage boys did, because they just weren't capable of really being in love."

"Including me." It wasn't a question.

"According to her."

James looked incredulous. "And you _believed_ her?"

Lily began to braid a stray lock of hand, as much to avoid looking at him as anything. "Not at first, but then I just…" She shrugged. "Then the night after I was here, it was really stormy, and I couldn't sleep, and I started thinking, and I realised that I really do just take you for granted and—"

"Lily." She looked up. "Come on. Everyone in the school knows that I've been crazy about you for years. I wasn't looking for anyone else, and girls were not exactly lining up to go out with the boy who was obsessed with Lily Evans." He leaned in to kiss her. "Stop being ridiculous," he murmured when they parted. "Do I really look like I have any interest in being with anyone else?"

She considered that for a moment. "I don't know," she said doubtfully. "I'm still not convinced."

He picked up on the joke immediately and grinned. "Do you want to be?" Before she answered, he added softly, "Lily, you know that I'm in love with you, right?"

She smiled back. "I'm just being silly," she said. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, I chased you for more than a year despite multiple rejections. I won't judge you."

She leaned in to brush her lips against his. "I love you," she murmured. She glanced toward the door. "Your mum probably won't be coming back up, will she?" she asked, running her hand underneath his shirt and up his back.

Her boyfriend's eyes glittered as he shook his head, and as his lips met hers, Lily Evans smiled.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hey! Thanks so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, favouriting, or adding to their alerts. I hope you like this chapter, too._

_As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, even if they're as simple as, "Great chapter!" or "James embarrassed is hilarious."_

_3_


	9. Petunia

"Lily, are you coming?"

Lily turned around. Her mother was beckoning to her, and her father had already disappeared through the barrier. She scanned the crowd one more time before turning away with a sigh. Petunia had said that she might meet them here, to see Lily off for her last trip on the Hogwarts Express… but if Petunia had meant to do that at all, Lily should have known that after the altercation between James and Vernon there was no way that she would show up now.

Her mother stepped through the column between platforms 9 and 10, and after another moment of hesitation, Lily followed her.

She'd really been holding out hope that Petunia would come despite all of it it. They'd gotten along so _well_over Christmas, and until Vernon actually stormed out, she'd been trying to keep the peace.

But maybe she'd been too optimistic.

When she emerged onto the crowded, bustling platform, she found her parents staring around the crowd in awe. They'd been on this platform many times before, but the hundreds of people rushing this way and that, laden down with owl cages and speaking loudly about the cost of dragon livers, never ceased to amaze them.

Someone tapped Lily's shoulder as she scanned the crowd for her friends, and she whirled around. "James!" She threw her arms around him, and he wrapped her tight in an embrace.

When they parted, he looked past her to her parents. "Er… hi, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans." He rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly.

He was clearly still feeling awkward about the Vernon incident.

"It's nice to see you again, James," Lily's mother said pleasantly, and he smiled back at her as he snaked his arm around Lily's waist.

Lily's father surveyed the two of them, his eyebrows raised. "You'd think the two of you had gone months without seeing each other, rather than less than a week." He glanced at his watch. "I think you should be getting on the train," he said.

"Right." Lily gave him a hug, and then turned to her mother. "Love you, Mum," she said softly as she hugged her, inhaling the scent of her mother's lavender perfume.

Her mother rubbed her back. "I love you, too, Lily," she said.

When Lily looked around for her suitcase, she saw that James had already slung it over his shoulder and begun to head for the train. "I _can_ carry my own suitcase, you know!" she said, hurrying after him.

He shrugged. "I can carry your suitcase, too."

"Oh, but if you're carrying my suitcase, how can you put your arm around me?"

His cheeks went a little red. "Sorry," he mumbled, and Lily winced. She'd meant for that to come out as a joke – he really _did_ seem to have an odd fixation with putting his arm around her waist – but it had definitely come out sounding more accusatory than funny.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he was already climbing onto the train. She looked back at her parents, waved one last time, and followed him. When she entered the compartment after him, she saw his suitcase already stored above the seat, and he was hefting hers up to join it.

Lily wrapped her arms around herself as she hovered in the doorway. "Where are your parents?" she asked after a moment.

James looked at her, dropping his arms to his side. "What? Oh, they dropped me off, but I told them not to bother hanging around, I was fine." He sat down a little stiffly on the bench, and rather than stretch out like he usually did, he leaned forward, rested his arms on his legs, and stared resolutely at the floor.

Lily sighed and went over to him. "Sorry," she said softly, standing over him and running one of her hands through his messy black hair. "I really was just joking."

He shrugged without looking at her. "It's fine."

She sat down by the window. To her slight surprise, he did not slide over to close the distance between them. She looked at him, and after a moment he sighed.

"I really am sorry," he said softly. "About that thing with your sister."

Lily slumped back in her seat. She knew that this was a conversation they had to have, but she'd been hoping they could put it off until tomorrow. Clearly, that was not going to happen. "I know you are."

Now he did look over at her. "You warned me that he might be an arse," he said. "I should have kept my head."

Had they _really_ been greeting each other quite happily just a few minutes ago? "I didn't know you were so upset over it," she said after a minute.

He looked at her incredulously. "I made you cry and I messed up your relationship with your sister, which I_know_ is already strained and which I also _know_ is important to you. Yes. Of course I'm upset about it." He made a face and straightened up. "But stop looking at me that way. I'm the one who screwed up. You don't have to comfort me."

It occurred to Lily suddenly how very _different_ James was from Severus, who, when confronted with the knowledge that his actions had hurt Lily's relationship with her sister, had said on multiple occasions that she was a muggle and he didn't understand why she mattered.

Now that she'd gotten older and learned more about people, she definitely preferred James.

She reached out to grab his hand. He glanced questioningly at it, and she slid over to sit closer to him. When their thighs touched, she felt a familiar jolt go through her.

"I know I don't," she said. "But try to stop worrying about it. It's not like you singlehandedly and irrevocably destroyed my relationship with my sister." Lily tried to make her voice sound as serious as possible, and was rewarded with the shadow of a grin on her boyfriend's face. "She'll calm down eventually, and we'll talk then."

"Are you _sure_ there's nothing I can do?" he asked.

"Be nice to Vernon next time you see him. No matter how much he deserves otherwise." He bit his lip, and she brushed his hair back. "Stop worrying about it right now."

A loud group of giggling girls passed outside the open compartment door, and Lily and James both looked over at them until they'd moved on down the corridor.

He sighed. "It's a really awful feeling to know that you messed up so bad you made your girlfriend cry."

She squeezed his hand. "I love you," she said. "You know that, right?"

"I know." He gave her a quick kiss, and she wrinkled her nose before she could help herself. "What?" he demanded.

"Your face," she said. "You're really scratchy."

James's face finally broke into a genuine smile. "Don't you find it incredibly manly?" She giggled, and his grin broadened. "Doesn't it make you want to haul me off to a closet and do sexy things to me?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Absolutely," she said dryly, putting her head on his shoulder. He slid his arm around her waist, and she sighed. "I love you," she repeated.

"I love you, too." He kissed her forehead, and she pulled back. He really _did_ need to shave.

He laughed and slid over, trapping her between him and the wall.

"James!" she shrieked as he sunk his fingers into her hair.

"I'm scratchy, huh?" he said, a twinkle in his eyes. "I bet I can change your mind about not wanting to kiss me."

Her heart began to beat wildly as he leaned in, and when his lips met hers, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth to dart her tongue out. He groaned, and one of his hands slid down from her hair and wrapped around her to pull her closer. The beard and mustache were uncomfortably scratchy, but at this point she was so absorbed in him that she barely noticed it.

When he finally pulled back a little, he was beaming. "Told you I could change your mind," he said.

"You did," she murmured, pulling his head back down.

They'd barely started kissing again when they heard a voice at the compartment door, and immediately broke apart. Sirius collapsed onto the bench across from them, looking highly amused.

"What?" James asked, still breathing a little heavily.

"I was just reminding you that we're in a public space," Sirius said. "Your wandering hands seemed to have forgotten that. I heard a couple fifth-years laughing about it halfway down the train."

Lily felt her face get hot, and James coughed. "Er—"

Sirius held up his hands. _"I_ don't care. I just thought you might like to be reminded."

The train gave a loud whistle, and Lily turned to look out the window. After a moment, to her immense surprise, she spotted a very familiar figure standing on her own with her arms wrapped around herself, looking very out-of-place and uncomfortable.

"Oh my god," she breathed, and yanked open the window. "Petunia!" she yelled loudly. "Petunia!"

Her sister's face twitched a little and she began to survey the train. Lily plunged her hand into her bag and pulled out her wand. She pointed it out the window, and blue sparks erupted from the end. Petunia's eyes went straight to their window, and after a moment, she hesitantly raised her hand in a wave.

Lily felt a smile break across her face, and she waved back.

Petunia's lips moved, and while Lily couldn't hear what she said, she could read the words quite clearly.

"I'm sorry, too."

* * *

><p>Thanks so much to thisismimi, LillyMay77, Super Cara, MortalFire101, BoredomBusters, Tajee165, musingmarauder, and for their lovely reviews on the last chapter. I hope you liked this one as well, and I'll get the next one up soon!<p> 


	10. Potions

"It's just so odd," Lily murmured to Sirius as they watched seven red-robed players circling the near set of rings.

"What is?" he asked.

They'd barely been back a week, and winter had really begun in full force. Lily had begun to curse the day she'd signed up for N.E.W.T.s in Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures, and had taken to resenting the hell out of her yearmates who were able to remain within the warmth of the castle all day.

"Our parents," she said, readjusting her scarf. "Mine didn't want the two of us unsupervised at all, and his didn't even blink when we disappeared into his room for hours."

Sirius snorted. "Hours, huh?" Lily elbowed him, and he grinned. "Well, honestly, Lily, what do you expect?" She shook her head uncomprehendingly, and he elaborated. "Your parents are worried about your virtue. James's parents know that he has no virtues, because he's an idiot."

A few weeks ago, Lily probably would have felt a stab of insecurity at that, but at this point, James had thoroughly convinced her of his undying affection, and she was able to take it for the joke that it was. "That's my boyfriend you're talking about," she said lightly, and Sirius shrugged.

"And he's my best mate. That doesn't mean he's not an idiot." He'd only just finished speaking when one of the players scored a particularly impressive goal, and Sirius groaned. "Great," he muttered as the figure's hand leapt to the back of his head. Lily waved up at James when he looked down at them, and he made a heart with his hands before getting back to practice.

"I think it's sweet," she said. A warm glow filled her whenever James scored and dedicated it to her, and it didn't seem to be losing its appeal, despite it being a fairly frequent occurrence.

"You would."

James emerged from the locker room shortly after practice had ended. He immediately slipped an arm around Lily's waist and kissed her cheek. "Thanks for coming," he said. "I know it's cold out."

"You're welcome," Sirius said dryly from behind him, and James grinned.

"Sorry," he said cheerfully. "You know I always appreciate the support of _all_ of my fans, not just the pretty ones."

Lily knew exactly what was coming, so she slipped away from James just before Sirius lunged forward to drop a handful of snow on James's head. "I'm plenty pretty," he said as James tried to brush the snow off his face.

"You're beautiful," James said sarcastically, and after making sure that Sirius didn't have another handful of snow waiting, Lily stepped over to help James brush the snow away. "Thanks," he said to Lily, and she smiled. "No, seriously, Sirius," he added as they started to walk back up to the castle. "Thanks for coming. I know you probably find it boring, but the support is nice to have right now."

James had received word earlier in the week that an old friend of his mother's was in St. Mungo's. There didn't seem to have been anything suspicious or malicious behind it – from what the Healers could tell, she'd simply gotten confused about how much of a routine potion she was taking to fight a cold. However, because of her age, the purportedly innocent mix-up was a lot more serious than it would have been for someone younger, and it wasn't clear when she was going to be able to leave St. Mungo's – or, from what Lily had gathered, whether she'd be able to leave it at all.

James apparently didn't know her all that well, but it was still jarring for him to think about her in such a serious state. Moreover, Lily had gathered that the incident had reminded James of just how old his parents really were and how much time they probably didn't have left.

He'd also learned that he was failing Potions two days ago, which had not improved his disposition.

She glanced over at Sirius, whose face had softened a little. "Not a problem," he said, clapping James on the back. "What are friends for?"

James looked up at the darkening sky. "Dunno," he said. "But I'm lucky to have you." He hugged Lily a little closer to him, and she reached up to squeeze the hand he had resting on her waist.

"Yeah, you are," Sirius agreed, and Lily held back a giggle. "Any plans for the evening?" He nudged James. "Should I be telling people that the seventh year boys' dormitory has been infested by owls or toads or something?"

James considered that for a minute, but before he could respond, Lily said smoothly, "Well, since we both came out and sat in the cold for a few hours, it doesn't seem very fair to me if James ditches you."

James looked a little offended. "I wasn't going to," he protested. Lily wasn't sure she believed him, and from the look on Sirius's face, neither was he. "I _wasn't,_" James repeated. "I was going to ask you both if you wanted to play cards or something upstairs."

"Depends," Sirius said. "Is 'cards' a euphemism for fireworks or something fun?"

"Oh, shut up."

When they got back to the castle, James headed off to take a bath and Sirius disappeared. Lily knew from experience that whenever one of the boys disappeared, they had a tendency to reappear anywhere from fifteen minutes to three hours later with a great deal of food in tow. She'd long since decided not to ask – it was almost certainly breaking the rules, and she thought that she was probably better off not knowing.

It wasn't even dinnertime yet, so rather than wait awkwardly in the common room for James or Sirius to come back, she decided to make her way down to the dungeons to talk to Slughorn. He was usually more than willing to make time for her, and she wanted to ask him if he would let her use the Potions dungeon tomorrow. James might not be a genius at Potions, but she refused to let him fail it, especially since he'd only signed up for it in the first place because she was taking it.

Sure enough, when she reached Slughorn's office door, it was ajar, and she could hear him talking to someone inside. She knocked once.

"Yes?" Slughorn called, and she slipped inside. "Oh, Ms. Evans! What a lovely surprise!"

"Professor, I-" Lily started, but stopped as soon as she saw who Slughorn had been talking to. "I didn't mean to interrupt," she said stiffly. "I can come back."

"Oh, nonsense," Slughorn said cheerfully. "Is there something you need?"

She hesitated. Severus appeared to be intent on studying his shoes, but she knew he was listening to every word she was saying. However, she didn't much fancy coming back down here later, and Slughorn might not be available then.

"I was wondering if you would mind me using the Potions classroom tomorrow," she said. "A couple of my friends and I wanted to practise a few Potions that we're not quite sure we've got right."

She felt fairly satisfied with that request; it wasn't a lie, but it didn't give away information that she'd rather be kept private, especially from the likes of Severus.

"Well, I'm sure _you_ have them quite right," Slughorn said, and she smiled despite herself. "But feel free to use it."

"Thank you, Professor," she said. "Have a good evening." As she left the room, she heard Severus muttering something to Slughorn. She sped up, hoping to avoid him, but he caught up to her before she'd turned the corner.

"Your loser boyfriend finally actually failing Potions?" Severus asked nastily, and she sighed inwardly.

"Leave me alone, Severus." She'd learned that arguing with him or denying anything only tended to make the interaction go on longer. If she refused to answer his questions, he tended to leave her alone.

That did not appear to be the case today, unfortunately. "I knew he was an idiot," Severus said scathingly. "I was honestly surprised that he managed to pass his O.W.L. in the first place." Lily had to remind herself that she was Head Girl to stop from hitting him; James might not be the best at Potions, but he wasn't the worst by a long shot, and she was proud of him for struggling through it.

"James is brilliant," she said through clenched teeth.

Severus gave a humourless snort. "Sure he is," he said dismissively. "That's why he's failing Potions."

Lily stopped dead. At this point, she was having a very hard time remember why she'd ever been friends with Severus in the first place. "Jealous?" she asked coolly.

She was rewarded by a faint tinge of pink that appeared on Severus's cheeks. "Of what?" The dismissive air he'd worn before now was gone, and while he was still trying to act like he didn't care, Lily knew that she had him.

"Oh, I dunno." She crossed her arms. "It seems to me that there's a lot to be jealous of, but maybe I'm biased, being in love with him and all."

He blanched with disgust. "What happened to you?" he snapped. "The Lily _I_ knew never would have given James Potter the time of _day."_

"Maybe you didn't know me as well as you thought you did," she said. She knew she would probably regret what she was about to say, but right now, she'd spent about a week worrying quite a lot about James. She was feeling very protective of him, and not at all in the mood to hear anyone trying to tear him down. "And given that _this_ Lily is sleeping with him, maybe you ought to let the Lily you _thought_ you knew go."

If he'd looked disgusted before, that was nothing to how he looked now. "You're _what?"_

"That's what adults do when they're in love, _Sev,"_ she said scathingly.

She could understand why he'd tried to get her to forgive him after the incident at the lake in their fifth year. She hadn't felt that she could, but she didn't fault him for trying. However, the way he'd been trying to break her and James up since September – through snide little comments, through his friends trying to intimidate James into breaking it off with the 'Mudblood,' and occasionally through confronting her himself – left her absolutely disgusted. If he actually cared about her, he'd want her to be happy, not try to wrench away one of the best things that had ever happened to her.

"How can you say that you're _in love_ with _that?"_ He swallowed hard and hesitated before saying, "It's not like he's the only person that cares about you." Something in his eyes made her feel like there was some subtext to his statement, but she was drawing a blank.

She didn't really understand what he was trying to say, and she didn't really want to, either. "Well, he makes me happy," she said. "So leave us alone, and tell your stupid friends to do the same."

Severus just stared at her for a moment. _"How?"_ he asked, his voice cracking. "How the hell did you end up with _James Potter?"_

There was so much raw pain packed into that question that for a moment, she felt sympathetic.

But only for a moment.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "But I'm happy I did." He didn't seem to have anything more to say, so she turned and walked away. He didn't try to stop her.

She really _didn't_ know how she'd ended up with James. She'd found herself feeling attracted to him even back in their fifth year, but he'd been so thoroughly obnoxious and arrogant that she hadn't even considered going out with him. She'd figured that there was a decent human being hidden in there somewhere, but she hadn't been at all inclined to wade through all of his nonsense to find it.

Now he'd shed enough of it that what was left was more endearing than anything, and she was quite happy to be his girlfriend – though she suspected that it never could have happened if he hadn't been so persistent about it.

As she climbed the stairs that would eventually lead her back up to Gryffindor tower, she thought back to her Christmas present. He'd put so much _effort_ into it; Sirius had let it slip that James had spent a lot of time searching for the book he'd given her and paid a substantial amount of money for it. Once she'd gotten past feeling awkward about the absurd amount of galleons he'd spent on her, she'd felt touched that he went to so much trouble. It wasn't really about the galleons – it was about what the effort said about how much he valued her.

She felt like the time they'd spent together over the Christmas holiday had really brought them closer together as a couple in general, even with the unpleasantness with Vernon. She was more sure than ever that James was the right person for her, and she wasn't going to stand for anyone trying to sabotage their relationship.

She bumped into James just inside the portrait hole. "Where've you been?" he asked curiously. Lily put her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him.

When they parted, she smiled. "I reserved the Potions classroom for tomorrow," she told him. "You're going to pass Potions if it kills me."

He made a face. "Ugh." His arms encircled her, and after a moment, he said softly, "Thanks."

She kissed him again. "I love you," she told him, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. "Let's go upstairs."

She took his hand and led him toward the staircase. As they started to climb, he said, "I love you, too."

She glanced back and smiled at him. "I know. It's convenient, isn't it?"

His laugh rang out as she opened the door to the seventh-year boys' dormitory.

* * *

><p><em>AN: RL has been really crazy lately, and I'm sorry I haven't been updating as regularly as I'd like. Here's a new chapter, though, and I hope you enjoyed it! :)_

_I would love to hear what you think, even if it's a simple "Great chapter!" or "I love James, he really is an idiot." :P_

_Branwen_


	11. Quidditch

Lily spent the next few days expecting to be the subject of stares and nasty whispers. She'd regretted telling Severus so much about her relationship with James almost immediately, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

To her surprise, however, there didn't seem to be any new rumours on the subject at all.

If there had been, she was fairly sure she would have heard about it; Severus's prospective Death Eater friends had never been exactly subtle, especially when it came to mocking muggleborns. That she hadn't meant that they almost certainly hadn't heard anything, but she couldn't understand why Severus would keep his mouth shut now.

She'd hesitated to mention it to James. She didn't think that he'd be mad at her - he was too proud of himself for being with her to get annoyed about the whole school knowing more details than she really wanted them to - but she _could_ see him picking a fight about it if he thought that someone was infringing on her honour.

Which was all very sweet, but it almost always made things worse, especially since James had a tendency to go overboard. That was particularly problematic since he was Head Boy, and therefore needed to maintain at least a modicum of control.

When Lily had expressed her concerns to Jane later that night, however, Jane had quite sensibly pointed out that if nasty rumours started, there was no way James was not going to hear them.

So she'd told him, and to her surprise, he'd almost seemed _pleased_, especially regarding Severus's reaction. While Lily was pleased to see the slight upswing in his mood, it made her reconsider the entire encounter in a way that she found so unsettling that she almost immediately tried to block it out.

As the days passed, however, Lily found herself genuinely too busy to expend much energy thinking about it. Gryffindor's second Quidditch match was coming up, and that meant a lot of late nights spent cajoling James into finishing his assignments.

"Lily, it's fine," he said one night. His voice was a little snappish, but she ignored the tone. "I'll figure it out. Just go to sleep."

It was well after midnight, and they were the only two people left in the Common Room since the last holdouts - Remus and Peter - had called it a night almost an hour ago. The fire was down to its dying embers, and the room was beginning to get chilly.

That did not improve his mood, and it didn't help hers, either. However, she knew full well that he _wouldn't_ "figure it out" without her help - he was working on a Potions assignment, and while he was currently managing an A, it wasn't by much.

"No," she said stubbornly. A lock of red hair fell across her vision, and she tucked it behind her ear. "I know you don't understand, and I'm not going to bed until you do."

His jaw was set, which was always a clear sign that he was getting very frustrated. "I _said-_" he started, but she cut him off.

She cut him off before he'd finished. "Yes, I heard you." She reached over to pull his Potions book toward her.

He snatched it back. "It's _fine,_" he repeated. "Stop trying to take care of me. I don't need your pity."

"Excuse me?"

James didn't look up from the page that he appeared to be skimming. "I said, _I don't need your pity._"

Lily felt her fists clench. "I wasn't trying to _pity_ you," she said irritably. "I was trying to be a good girlfriend." He already looked like he was regretting what he'd said, and when she pushed back her chair, his expression changed to being downright alarmed.

"Lily," he said quickly, reaching a hand out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

She ignored him. "But it's fine, right? So I'll just leave you to it." She stalked toward the stairs before he could react and ascended them quickly.

As soon as she closed the door to her dormitory behind her, she knew that she'd overreacted. Granted, so had he - neither of them had been getting enough sleep lately, and they'd both been under a lot of stress in general.

"Still," she muttered to herself, fuming, as she crawled into bed.

However, whether it was just her continued irritation at James or a good dose of guilt, she found that sleep did not come quickly. After about twenty minutes of tossing and turning in the dark room, she sighed and fumbled for her dressing gown.

She padded down the stairs softly and found James still at the table. He was slouched in his seat, and as she hesitated on the last step, he threw his head back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey," she said softly.

He spun around so quickly that his chair fell over - thankfully, onto the rug. The lion cub that had been curled up sleeping on the edge of it did not appreciate the intrusion, but the last thing they needed was to wake up half the House.

"Hey," he replied, looking a little surprised. "What are you doing back down here?"

Lily made her way across the Common Room as he picked up the chair, and once he'd slumped back into it, she brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry," she told him.

"Me too." James's voice was barely above a whisper. "I know you're just trying to help."

_"Trying?"_ she asked, and he bit his lip in a failed attempt to hide the grin that was sneaking across his face.

"Just helping, then." He reached out hesitantly, and when she didn't resist, he pulled her into his lap. "I didn't mean to snap," he said, resting his head on her chest.

"I know." She ran a hand through his hair, and he closed his eyes. "Feel good?"

"Mm." James began to slide a hand inside her dressing gown. "You know what would make me feel even better?"

She smacked him lightly, and he pulled back and grinned.

"You're making me regret my apology," she warned him, and he laughed.

"No I'm not." He wrapped his arms around her again and pulled her closer to him. "I love you," he said, and just as she did every time he spoke those words, Lily felt herself melting.

The day of James's second Quidditch match could not come fast enough.

* * *

><p>Lily was rather dreading the match itself. It had been so cold lately that no amount of affection could have gotten either her or Sirius to sit and watch practice, and James didn't even crack a joke about it. He knew that they were both braving the cold twice a week as it was for Care of Magical Creatures lessons.<p>

Thankfully, however, the match itself came on a sunny day that, if not exactly _warm,_ was at least not absolutely frigid.

"Hope they win," Sirius said offhandedly as a group of the Gryffindor seventh years made their way down to the pitch. He was dressed for both the weather and the occasion; his hat, scarf, and gloves were all bright red.

"As well you should," Remus commented mildly as he adjusted his scarf.

Sirius grinned. "No, I mean, I bet Emily - the Ravenclaw prefect - fifteen galleons that he would."

Peter choked. "Sirius, why in _Merlin's name_ would you do that?"

Sirius shrugged and stuffed his hand further in his pockets. "I was with James when she started going on about Ravenclaw winning, and it seemed like a good idea to give him the vote of confidence."

"Does he need a vote of confidence?" Sarah asked curiously. "I dunno, he's always seemed plenty confident to me."

Lily wanted to cut in and deflect the attention off of James, and judging by the look on his face, Remus was struggling with the same inclination. However, she knew that Sirius could handle it just fine.

And he did.

"That's just because he's always had me giving him all these little votes of confidence," Sirius told her. He blew on a stray piece of hair that had fallen across his face. "Without me, he'd be as worthless as Emily." Sarah looked doubtful, and Sirius smiled. "What, you don't think I'm trustworthy?"

"Who _does?"_ chorused Peter and Jane together, and Sirius threw his head back and laughed.

They found seats, and as soon as they'd sat down, Jane surprised them with a large container that turned out to contain hot cocoa.

"I wondered what you were hiding in that bag," Sarah said after she'd conjured up some mugs.

Jane smiled as she poured them each a cup. "Well, it's cold." She glanced toward the pitch. "Gryffindor had better win."

Thankfully, Gryffindor _did_ win, though the victory was narrow enough that at one point Lily had to elbow Sirius to point out that if he bit his lip any harder it was going to start bleeding.

James had played quite well, and the win kept them in the running for the Quidditch Cup. As a result, everyone was in very good spirits as they headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Peter offered to go and retrieve some snacks from the kitchens, and to nearly everyone's surprise, Lily volunteered to go with him.

"Well, it's not _technically_ against the rules," she said defensively as she handed her coat, gloves, and scarf to Jane.

"Tell that to McGonagall," someone muttered, and she laughed.

"Come on, Peter," she said, and he followed her down the hall as everyone else climbed through the portrait hole.

"Have you ever gone to the kitchens before?" he asked curiously as she let him take the lead.

"Once," she said. "A few months ago. But I don't remember the way."

Peter grinned. He was clearly pleased to be the one in charge for once. "I'll just duck in," he said as they approached the portrait. "Keep watch out here."

She was about to ask what exactly she should do if someone came along when he tickled the painting and stepped into the darkness beyond as soon as it swung open.

"Oh well." She leaned against the wall. She'd just have to come down with a hacking fit or something if a teacher happened by.

As she waited, she heard footsteps to her left, and before she could turn around, a familiar voice floated down the corridor toward her. "Tell your boyfriend I said congratulations," Severus said with a curl of his lip. "It takes real talent to almost lose to _Ravenclaw."_

It was true enough that Ravenclaw had been a pretty rubbish team for most of their time at Hogwarts, but this year's team was actually quite good. They'd hammered Hufflepuff the first match of the season, and they'd been second in the Cup race the year before.

"Thanks," she said. "I'm sure he'll be really pleased to hear it from you."

Severus wrinkled his nose and began to walk away.

Something occurred to Lily. "Wait," she said quickly, and he glanced back. "You didn't - er -"

"Start a nasty rumour about you and Potter?" he supplied, and she nodded. "No. Would you like me to?"

_"No!"_

He raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Then why bring it up?"

"Why?" she asked after a moment, and he sighed and turned around.

"Because, Evans, I have better things to do with my time than interfere with two people who _clearly_ deserve each other." Lily felt her face harden, and he sighed again. "Look," he said, his tone suddenly more earnest. "If Potter is really who you want to be with - and it seems like he is, for reasons I cannot _possibly_ fathom - I'll respect our former friendship enough to try not to get in the way."

"Oh." She processed that. "I - thank you."

He nodded curtly and walked off down the hall, leaving her feeling more than a little surprised, and exceedingly relieved.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked from behind her. She spun around.

"What?" He repeated the question, and she smiled. "Nothing. Come on," she said, reaching out to relieve him of part of his burden. "Let's get back to the Common Room."

There was what promised to be an memorable afternoon ahead. 

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hey, all! :) I'm sorry for the disappearance - RL has been tough lately. However, I am hoping to update this every couple weeks from hereon out (though there aren't many chapters left)._

_Thanks so much to Snuffles4Eva, Lemon-Drop24, angelxofxmine, Haruhi-chan131, FudgeFanatic, readingnerd18, Runa Ollivander, Raaaaaainbow, and Lil Lupin for their reviews since my last update._

_I would love to hear what everyone thinks of this chapter, too, so if you'd like to leave your thoughts in the box, that would be very appreciated. :)_


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